rootsh

Rootsh is a handy software tool designed to monitor user activity by logging all echoed keystrokes and terminal output to a file and/or to syslog. Its primary purpose is to keep an eye on users who have root privileges and start rootsh through the sudo mechanism.

This software tool is particularly useful when users have to perform complex tasks on a system that cannot be executed through sudo commands. Often, management may put pressure on IT administrators to give a user root shell access, and sometimes it may just be easier to provide access instead of constantly arguing with users who insist on having root privileges.

With rootsh, administrators can provide users with access to a root shell while also keeping an eye on their actions through auditing. This software tool is identical to script utility as it forks and creates a master/slave pseudo terminal pair. The slave pseudo terminal will become the controlling terminal of the child process, which will execute the shell command, while the parent process waits for input from the user's terminal and sends it down the master pty.

Rootsh features include output logging, including echoed input, to a log file and to the syslog daemon. In this latest release, version() and usage() have been added to rootsh. The pty module handling has been modified for AIX, and the setupshell and beginlogging have been switched. Additionally, the preferred signal handling now includes posix sigaction, and sys/select.h has been added to the configure.in tests.

In conclusion, rootsh is an essential software tool that allows IT administrators to provide users with access to root shell while maintaining complete control and monitoring of user activity. With its features of output logging to a file and syslog daemon, rootsh is a reliable software solution for any organization that requires complete control of user privileges.