Syntax
pmcheck [ -z on|off[:<pid>] ] | [ -v ] | [ [ -a <string> ] [ -b ] [ -c ] [ -e <requestuser> ] [ -f <filename> ] [ -g <group> ] [ -h <hostname> ] [ -i ] [ -m <YY[YY]/MM/DD> ] [ -n <HH[:MM]> ] [ -o sudo|pmpolicy ] [ -p <policydir> ] [ -q ] [ -r <remotehost> ] [ -s <submithost> ] [ -t ] [ -u <runuser> ] [ command [ args ]]]
Description
Use the pmcheck command to test the policy file. Although the policy server daemon pmmasterd reports configuration file errors to a log file, always use pmcheck to verify the syntax of a policy file before you install it on a live system. You can also use the pmcheck command to simulate running a command to test whether a request will be accepted or rejected.
The pmcheck program exits with a value corresponding to the number of syntax errors found.
Options
pmcheck has the following options.
Option | Description |
---|---|
-a <string> |
Checks if the specified string, entered during the session, matches any alertkeysequence configured. You can only specify this option if you supply a command. This option is only relevant when using the pmpolicy type. |
-b |
Run in batch mode. By default, pmcheck runs in interactive mode, and attempts to emulate the behavior of the pmmasterd when parsing the policy file. The -b option ensures that no user interaction is required if the policy file contains a password or input function; instead, a successful return code is assumed for any password authentication functions. |
-c |
Runs in batch mode and displays output in csv format. By default pmcheck runs in interactive mode. The -c option ensures that no user interaction is required if the policy file contains a password prompt or input function and no commands that require remote connections are attempted. |
-e <requestuser> |
Sets the value of requestuser. This option allows you to specify the group name to use when testing the configuration. This emulates running a session using the sudo -u <user> option to request that Safeguard runs the command as a particular runuser. |
-f <filename> |
Sets path to policy filename. Provides an alternative configuration filename to check. If not fully qualified, this path is interpreted as relative to the policydir, rather than to the current directory. |
-g <group> |
Sets the group name to use. If not specified, then pmcheck looks up the user on the master policy server host to get the group information. This option is useful for checking a user and group that does not exist on the policy server. |
-h <hostname> |
Specifies execution host used for testing purposes. |
-i |
Ignores check for root ownership of policy. |
-m <YY[YY]/MM/DD> |
Checks the policy for a particular date. Enter Date in this format: YY[YY]/MM/DD. Defaults to the current date. |
-n <HH[:MM]> |
Checks the policy for a particular time. Enter Time in this format: HH[:mm]. Defaults to the current time. |
-o <policytype> |
Interprets the policy with the specified policy type:
|
-p policydir | Forces pmcheck to use a different directory to search for policy files included with a relative pathname. The default location to search for policy files is the policydir setting in pm.settings. |
-q | Runs in quiet mode, pmcheck does not prompt the user for input, print any errors or prompts, or run any system commands. The exit status of pmcheck indicates the number of syntax errors found (0 = success). This is useful when running scripted applications that require a simple syntax check. |
-r remotehost |
Sets the value of the clienthost variable within the configuration file, useful for testing purposes. The clienthost variable is set to the value of the submithost variable. |
-s submithost | Sets the value of the submithost variable within the configuration file, useful for testing purposes. |
-t |
Runs in quiet mode to check whether a command would be accepted or rejected. By default, pmcheck runs in interactive mode. The -t option ensures that no user interaction is required if the policy file contains a password prompt or input function, no output is displayed and no commands that require remote connections are attempted. Exit Status:
|
-u <runuser> | Sets the value of the runuser variable within the configuration file, useful for testing purposes. |
-v | Displays the version number of Safeguard and exits. |
-z |
Enables or disables debug tracing, and optionally sends SIGHUP to running process. Refer to Enabling Program-level Tracing before using this option. |
command [args] |
Sets the command name and optional arguments. |
You can use pmcheck two ways: to check the syntax of the configuration file, or to test whether a request is accepted or rejected (that is, to simulate running a command).
By default, pmcheck runs the configuration file interactively in the same way as pmmasterd and reports any syntax errors found. If you supply an argument to a command, it reports whether the requested command is accepted or rejected. You can use the -c and -q options to verify the syntax in batch or silent mode, without any user interaction required.
When you run a configuration file using pmcheck, you are allowed to modify the values of the incoming variables. This is useful for testing the configuration file's response to various conditions. When pmmasterd runs a configuration file, the incoming variables are read-only.
Example
To verify whether the sudoer policy file /etc/sudoers, ingoring permissions and ownership, allows user jsmith in the users group to run the passwd root command on host, host1, enter:
pmcheck -f /etc/sudoers -i -o sudo -u jsmith -g users
-h host1 passwd root