cvtsudoers(1) — Linux manual page
CVTSUDOERS(1) General Commands Manual CVTSUDOERS(1)
NAME
cvtsudoers — convert between sudoers file formats
SYNOPSIS
cvtsudoers [-ehMpV] [-b dn] [-c conf_file] [-d deftypes] [-f
output_format] [-i input_format] [-I increment] [-l log_file] [-m
filter] [-o output_file] [-O start_point] [-P padding] [-s
sections] [input_file ...]
DESCRIPTION
The cvtsudoers utility accepts one or more security policies in
either sudoers or LDIF format as input, and generates a single
policy of the specified format as output. The default input
format is sudoers. The default output format is LDIF. It is only
possible to convert a policy file that is syntactically correct.
If no input_file is specified, or if it is ‘-’, the policy is
read from the standard input. Input files may be optionally
prefixed with a host name followed by a colon (‘:’) to make the
policy rules specific to a host when merging multiple files. By
default, the result is written to the standard output.
The options are as follows:
-b dn, --base=dn
The base DN (distinguished name) that will be used when
performing LDAP queries. Typically this is of the form
“ou=SUDOers,dc=my-domain,dc=com” for the domain my-
domain.com. If this option is not specified, the value
of the SUDOERS_BASE environment variable will be used
instead. Only necessary when converting to LDIF format.
-c conf_file, --config=conf_file
Specify the path to the configuration file. Defaults to
/etc/cvtsudoers.conf.
-d deftypes, --defaults=deftypes
Only convert Defaults entries of the specified types.
One or more Defaults types may be specified, separated by
a comma (‘,’). The supported types are:
all All Defaults entries.
global Global Defaults entries that are applied
regardless of user, runas, host, or command.
user Per-user Defaults entries.
runas Per-runas user Defaults entries.
host Per-host Defaults entries.
command Per-command Defaults entries.
See the Defaults section in sudoers(5) for more
information.
If the -d option is not specified, all Defaults entries
will be converted.
-e, --expand-aliases
Expand aliases in input_file. Aliases are preserved by
default when the output format is JSON or sudoers.
-f output_format, --output-format=output_format
Specify the output format (case-insensitive). The
following formats are supported:
CSV CSV (comma-separated value) files are often used
by spreadsheets and report generators. See “CSV
output format” for more details.
JSON JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) files are
usually easier for third-party applications to
consume than the traditional sudoers format.
The various values have explicit types which
removes much of the ambiguity of the sudoers
format. See “JSON output format” for more
details.
LDIF LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) files can be
imported into an LDAP server for use with
sudoers.ldap(5).
Conversion to LDIF has the following
limitations:
• Command, host, runas, and user-specific
Defaults lines cannot be translated as they
don't have an equivalent in the sudoers LDAP
schema.
• Command, host, runas, and user aliases are
not supported by the sudoers LDAP schema so
they are expanded during the conversion.
sudoers Traditional sudoers format. A new sudoers file
will be reconstructed from the parsed input
file. Comments are not preserved and data from
any include files will be output inline.
--group-file=file
When the -M option is also specified, perform group
queries using file instead of the system group database.
-h, --help
Display a short help message to the standard output and
exit.
-i input_format, --input-format=input_format
Specify the input format. The following formats are
supported:
LDIF LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) files can be
exported from an LDAP server to convert security
policies used by sudoers.ldap(5). If a base DN
(distinguished name) is specified, only sudoRole
objects that match the base DN will be
processed. Not all sudoOptions specified in a
sudoRole can be translated from LDIF to sudoers
format.
sudoers Traditional sudoers format. This is the default
input format.
-I increment, --increment=increment
When generating LDIF output, increment each sudoOrder
attribute by the specified number. Defaults to an
increment of 1.
-l log_file, --logfile=log_file
Log conversion warnings to log_file instead of to the
standard error. This is particularly useful when merging
multiple sudoers files, which can generate a large number
of warnings.
-m filter, --match=filter
Only output rules that match the specified filter. A
filter expression is made up of one or more key = value
pairs, separated by a comma (‘,’). The key may be “cmnd”
(or “cmd”), “host”, “group”, or “user”. For example,
user = operator or host = www. An upper-case Cmnd_Alias,
Host_alias, or User_Alias may be specified as the “cmnd”,
“host”, or “user”.
A matching sudoers rule may also include users, groups,
and hosts that are not part of the filter. This can
happen when a rule includes multiple users, groups, or
hosts. To prune out any non-matching user, group, or
host from the rules, the -p option may be used.
By default, the password and group databases are not
consulted when matching against the filter so the users
and groups do not need to be present on the local system
(see the -M option). Only aliases that are referenced by
the filtered policy rules will be displayed.
-M, --match-local
When the -m option is also specified, use password and
group database information when matching users and groups
in the filter. Only users and groups in the filter that
exist on the local system will match, and a user's groups
will automatically be added to the filter. If the -M is
not specified, users and groups in the filter do not need
to exist on the local system, but all groups used for
matching must be explicitly listed in the filter.
-o output_file, --output=output_file
Write the converted output to output_file. If no
output_file is specified, or if it is ‘-’, the converted
sudoers policy will be written to the standard output.
-O start_point, --order-start=start_point
When generating LDIF output, use the number specified by
start_point in the sudoOrder attribute of the first
sudoRole object. Subsequent sudoRole object use a
sudoOrder value generated by adding an increment, see the
-I option for details. Defaults to a starting point of
1. A starting point of 0 will disable the generation of
sudoOrder attributes in the resulting LDIF file.
--passwd-file=file
When the -M option is also specified, perform passwd
queries using file instead of the system passwd database.
-p, --prune-matches
When the -m option is also specified, cvtsudoers will
prune out non-matching users, groups, and hosts from
matching entries.
-P padding, --padding=padding
When generating LDIF output, construct the initial
sudoOrder value by concatenating order_start and
increment, padding the increment with zeros until it
consists of padding digits. For example, if order_start
is 1027, padding is 3, and increment is 1, the value of
sudoOrder for the first entry will be 1027000, followed
by 1027001, 1027002, etc. If the number of sudoRole
entries is larger than the padding would allow,
cvtsudoers will exit with an error. By default, no
padding is performed.
-s sections, --suppress=sections
Suppress the output of specific sections of the security
policy. One or more section names may be specified,
separated by a comma (‘,’). The supported section name
are: defaults, aliases and privileges (which may be
shortened to privs).
-V, --version
Print the cvtsudoers and sudoers grammar versions and
exit.
Merging multiple files
When multiple input files are specified, cvtsudoers will attempt
to merge them into a single policy file. It is assumed that user
and group names are consistent among the policy files to be
merged. For example, user “bob” on one host is the same as user
“bob” on another host.
When merging policy files, it is possible to prefix the input
file name with a host name, separated by a colon (‘:’). When the
files are merged, the host name will be used to restrict the
policy rules to that specific host where possible.
The merging process is performed as follows:
• Each input file is parsed into internal sudoers data
structures.
• Aliases are merged and renamed as necessary to avoid
conflicts. In the event of a conflict, the first alias found
is left as-is and subsequent aliases of the same name are
renamed with a numeric suffix separated with a underscore
(‘_’). For example, if there are two different aliases named
SERVERS, the first will be left as-is and the second will be
renamed SERVERS_1. References to the renamed alias are also
updated in the policy file. Duplicate aliases (those with
identical contents) are pruned.
• Defaults settings are merged and duplicates are removed. If
there are conflicts in the Defaults settings, a warning is
emitted for each conflict. If a host name is specified with
the input file, cvtsudoers will change the global Defaults
settings in that file to be host-specific. A warning is
emitted for command, user, or runas-specific Defaults settings
which cannot be made host-specific.
• Per-user rules are merged and duplicates are removed. If a
host name is specified with the input file, cvtsudoers will
change rules that specify a host name of ALL to the host name
associated with the policy file being merged. The merging of
rules is currently fairly simplistic but will be improved in a
later release.
It is possible to merge policy files with differing formats.
The cvtsudoers.conf file
Options in the form “keyword = value” may also be specified in a
configuration file, /etc/cvtsudoers.conf by default. The
following keywords are recognized:
defaults = deftypes
See the description of the -d command line option.
expand_aliases = yes | no
See the description of the -e command line option.
group_file = file
See the description of the --group-file command line
option.
input_format = ldif | sudoers
See the description of the -i command line option.
match = filter
See the description of the -m command line option.
match_local = yes | no
See the description of the -M command line option.
order_increment = increment
See the description of the -I command line option.
order_start = start_point
See the description of the -O command line option.
output_format = csv | json | ldif | sudoers
See the description of the -f command line option.
padding = padding
See the description of the -P command line option.
passwd_file = file
See the description of the --passwd-file command line
option.
prune_matches = yes | no
See the description of the -p command line option.
sudoers_base = dn
See the description of the -b command line option.
suppress = sections
See the description of the -s command line option.
Options on the command line will override values from the
configuration file.
JSON output format
The sudoers JSON format may contain any of the following top-
level objects:
Defaults
An array of objects, each containing an Options array and
an optional Binding array.
The Options array consists of one or more objects, each
containing a “name:value” pair that corresponds to a
sudoers Defaults setting. Options that operate on a list
will also include an operation entry in the object, with a
value of “list_assign” for ‘=’, “list_add” for ‘+=’, or
“list_remove” for ‘-=’.
The optional Binding array consists of one or more objects,
each containing a “name:value” pair and an optional negated
entry, which will negate any comparison performed with the
object. If a Binding is present, the setting will only
take effect if one of the specified command, hostname,
netgroup, networkaddr, nonunixgid, nonunixgroup, usergid,
usergroup, userid, username, or alias entries match.
For example, the following sudoers entry:
Defaults@somehost set_home, env_keep += DISPLAY
converts to:
"Defaults": [
{
"Binding": [
{ "hostname": "somehost" }
],
"Options": [
{ "set_home": true },
{
"operation": "list_add",
"env_keep": [
"DISPLAY"
]
}
]
}
]
User_Aliases
A JSON object containing one or more sudoers User_Alias
entries where each named alias has as its value an array
containing one or more objects. Each object contains a
“name:value” pair and an optional negated entry, which will
negate any comparison performed with the object. The name
may be one of netgroup, nonunixgid, nonunixgroup,
useralias, usergid, usergroup, userid, or username.
For example, the following sudoers entry:
User_Alias SYSADMIN = will, %wheel, +admin
converts to:
"User_Aliases": {
"SYSADMIN": [
{ "username": "will" },
{ "usergroup": "wheel" },
{ "netgroup": "admin" }
]
}
Runas_Aliases
A JSON object containing one or more sudoers Runas_Alias
entries, where each named alias has as its value an array
containing one or more objects. Each object contains a
“name:value” pair and an optional negated entry, which will
negate any comparison performed with the object. The name
may be one of netgroup, nonunixgid, nonunixgroup,
runasalias, usergid, usergroup, userid, or username.
For example, the following sudoers entry:
Runas_Alias DB = oracle, sybase : OP = root, operator
converts to:
"Runas_Aliases": {
"DB": [
{ "username": "oracle" },
{ "username": "sybase" }
],
"OP": [
{ "username": "root" },
{ "username": "operator" }
]
}
Host_Aliases
A JSON object containing one or more sudoers Host_Alias
entries where each named alias has as its value an array
containing one or more objects. Each object contains a
“name:value” pair and an optional negated entry, which will
negate any comparison performed with the object. The name
may be one of hostalias, hostname, netgroup, or
networkaddr.
For example, the following sudoers entries:
Host_Alias DORMNET = 128.138.243.0, 128.138.204.0/24
Host_Alias SERVERS = boulder, refuge
convert to:
"Host_Aliases": {
"DORMNET": [
{ "networkaddr": "128.138.243.0" },
{ "networkaddr": "128.138.204.0/24" }
],
"SERVERS": [
{ "hostname": "boulder" },
{ "hostname": "refuge" }
]
}
Cmnd_Aliases
A JSON object containing one or more sudoers Cmnd_Alias
entries where each named alias has as its value an array
containing one or more objects. Each object contains a
“name:value” pair and an optional negated entry, which will
negate any comparison performed with the object. The name
may be either another cmndalias or a command. For example,
the following sudoers entries:
Cmnd_Alias SHELLS = /bin/bash, /bin/csh, /bin/sh, /bin/zsh
Cmnd_Alias VIPW = /usr/bin/chpass, /usr/bin/chfn, /usr/bin/chsh, \
/usr/bin/passwd, /usr/sbin/vigr, /usr/sbin/vipw
convert to:
"Cmnd_Aliases": {
"SHELLS": [
{ "command": "/bin/bash" },
{ "command": "/bin/csh" },
{ "command": "/bin/sh" },
{ "command": "/bin/zsh" }
],
"VIPW": [
{ "command": "/usr/bin/chpass" },
{ "command": "/usr/bin/chfn" },
{ "command": "/usr/bin/chsh" },
{ "command": "/usr/bin/passwd" },
{ "command": "/usr/sbin/vigr" },
{ "command": "/usr/sbin/vipw" }
]
}
User_Specs
A JSON array containing one or more objects, each
representing a sudoers User_Spec. Each object in the
User_Specs array should contain a User_List array, a
Host_List array and a Cmnd_Specs array.
A User_List consists of one or more objects. Each object
contains a “name:value” pair and an optional negated entry,
which will negate any comparison performed with the object.
The name may be one of netgroup, nonunixgid, nonunixgroup,
useralias, usergid, usergroup, userid, or username. If
username is set to the special value ALL, it will match any
user.
A Host_List consists of one or more objects. Each object
contains a “name:value” pair and an optional negated entry,
which will negate any comparison performed with the object.
The name may be one of hostalias, hostname, netgroup, or
networkaddr. If hostname is set to the special value ALL,
it will match any host.
The Cmnd_Specs array consists of one or more JSON objects
describing a command that may be run. Each Cmnd_Specs is
made up of a Commands array, an optional runasusers array,
an optional runasgroups array, and an optional Options
array.
The Commands array consists of one or more objects
containing “name:value” pair elements. The following names
and values are supported:
command A string containing the command to run. The
special value ALL it will match any command.
negated A boolean value that, if true, will negate any
comparison performed with the object.
sha224 One or more SHA224 digests for the command in
string form. Multiple digests of the same type
are stored as an array.
sha256 One or more SHA256 digests for the command in
string form. Multiple digests of the same type
are stored as an array.
sha384 One or more SHA384 digests for the command in
string form. Multiple digests of the same type
are stored as an array.
sha512 One or more SHA512 digests for the command in
string form. Multiple digests of the same type
are stored as an array.
The runasusers array consists of objects describing users
the command may be run as. Each object contains a
“name:value” pair and an optional negated entry, which will
negate any comparison performed with the object. The name
may be one of netgroup, nonunixgid, nonunixgroup,
runasalias, usergid, usergroup, userid, or username. If
username is set to the special value ALL, it will match any
user. If username is set to the empty string “”, it will
match the invoking user.
The runasgroups array consists of objects describing groups
the command may be run as. Each object contains a
“name:value” pair and an optional negated entry, which will
negate any comparison performed with the object. The name
may be one of runasalias, usergid, or usergroup. If
usergroup is set to the special value ALL, it will match
any group.
The Options array is of the same format as the one in the
Defaults object. Any Tag_Spec entries in sudoers are
converted to Options. A user with “sudo ALL” privileges
will automatically have the setenv option enabled to match
the implicit behavior provided by sudoers.
For example, the following sudoers entry:
millert ALL = (ALL : ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL, !/usr/bin/id
converts to:
"User_Specs": [
{
"User_List": [
{ "username": "millert" }
],
"Host_List": [
{ "hostname": "ALL" }
],
"Cmnd_Specs": [
{
"runasusers": [
{ "username": "ALL" }
],
"runasgroups": [
{ "usergroup": "ALL" }
],
"Options": [
{ "authenticate": false },
{ "setenv": true }
],
"Commands": [
{ "command": "ALL" },
{
"command": "/usr/bin/id",
"negated": true
}
]
}
]
}
]
CSV output format
CSV (comma-separated value) files are often used by spreadsheets
and report generators. For CSV output, cvtsudoers double quotes
strings that contain commas. For each literal double quote
character present inside the string, two double quotes are
output. This method of quoting commas is compatible with most
spreadsheet programs.
There are three possible sections in cvtsudoers's CSV output,
each separated by a blank line:
defaults
This section includes any Defaults settings in sudoers.
The defaults section begins with the following heading:
defaults_type,binding,name,operator,value
The fields are as follows:
defaults_type
The type of Defaults setting; one of defaults,
defaults_command, defaults_host, defaults_runas, or
defaults_user.
binding
For defaults_command, defaults_host, defaults_runas,
and defaults_user this is the value that must match
for the setting to be applied.
name The name of the Defaults setting.
operator
The operator determines how the value is applied to
the setting. It may be either ‘=’ (assignment), ‘+=’
(append), or ‘-=’ (remove).
value
The setting's value, usually a string or, for
settings used in a boolean context, true or false.
aliases
This section includes any Cmnd_Alias Host_Alias,
Runas_Alias, or User_Alias, entries from sudoers. The
aliases section begins with the following heading:
alias_type,alias_name,members
The fields are as follows:
alias_type
The type of alias; one of Cmnd_Alias, Host_Alias,
Runas_Alias, or User_Alias.
alias_name
The name of the alias; a string starting with an
upper-case letter that consists of upper-case
letters, digits, or underscores.
members
A comma-separated list of members belonging to the
alias. Due to the use of commas, members is
surrounded by double quotes if it contains more than
one member.
rules
This section includes the sudoers rules that grant
privileges. The rules section begins with the following
heading:
rule,user,host,runusers,rungroups,options,command
The fields are as follows:
rule This field indicates a sudoers rule entry.
user The user the rule applies to. This may also be a
Unix group (preceded by a ‘%’ character), a non-Unix
group (preceded by ‘%:’) or a netgroup (preceded by a
‘+’ character) or a User_Alias. If set to the
special value ALL, it will match any user.
host The host the rule applies to. This may also be a
netgroup (preceded by a ‘+’ character) or a
Host_Alias. If set to the special value ALL, it will
match any host.
runusers
An optional comma-separated list of users (or
Runas_Aliases) the command may be run as. If it
contains more than one member, the value is
surrounded by double quotes. If set to the special
value ALL, it will match any user. If empty, the
root user is assumed.
rungroups
An optional comma-separated list of groups (or
Runas_Aliases) the command may be run as. If it
contains more than one member, the value is
surrounded by double quotes. If set to the special
value ALL, it will match any group. If empty, the
runuser's group is used.
options
An optional list of Defaults settings to apply to the
command. Any Tag_Spec entries in sudoers are
converted to options.
commands
A list of commands, with optional arguments, that the
user is allowed to run. If set to the special value
ALL, it will match any command.
For example, the following sudoers entry:
millert ALL = (ALL : ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL, !/usr/bin/id
converts to:
rule,millert,ALL,ALL,ALL,"!authenticate","ALL,!/usr/bin/id"
FILES
/etc/cvtsudoers.conf default configuration for cvtsudoers
EXAMPLES
Convert /etc/sudoers to LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) where
the ldap.conf file uses a sudoers_base of my-domain,dc=com,
storing the result in sudoers.ldif:
$ cvtsudoers -b ou=SUDOers,dc=my-domain,dc=com -o sudoers.ldif \
/etc/sudoers
Convert /etc/sudoers to JSON format, storing the result in
sudoers.json:
$ cvtsudoers -f json -o sudoers.json /etc/sudoers
Parse /etc/sudoers and display only rules that match user ambrose
on host hastur:
$ cvtsudoers -f sudoers -m user=ambrose,host=hastur /etc/sudoers
Same as above, but expand aliases and prune out any non-matching
users and hosts from the expanded entries.
$ cvtsudoers -ep -f sudoers -m user=ambrose,host=hastur /etc/sudoers
Convert sudoers.ldif from LDIF to traditional sudoers format:
$ cvtsudoers -i ldif -f sudoers -o sudoers.new sudoers.ldif
Merge a global sudoers file with two host-specific policy files
from the hosts “xyzzy” and “plugh”:
$ cvtsudoers -f sudoers -o sudoers.merged sudoers \
xyzzy:sudoers.xyzzy plugh:sudoers.plugh
SEE ALSO
sudoers(5), sudoers.ldap(5), sudo(8)
AUTHORS
Many people have worked on sudo over the years; this version
consists of code written primarily by:
Todd C. Miller
See the CONTRIBUTORS.md file in the sudo distribution
(https://www.sudo.ws/about/contributors/) for an exhaustive list
of people who have contributed to sudo.
BUGS
If you believe you have found a bug in cvtsudoers, you can either
file a bug report in the sudo bug database,
https://bugzilla.sudo.ws/, or open an issue at
https://github.com/sudo-project/sudo/issues. If you would prefer
to use email, messages may be sent to the sudo-workers mailing
list, https://www.sudo.ws/mailman/listinfo/sudo-workers (public)
or <sudo@sudo.ws> (private).
Please not report security vulnerabilities through public GitHub
issues, Bugzilla or mailing lists. Instead, report them via
email to <Todd.Miller@sudo.ws>. You may encrypt your message
with PGP if you would like, using the key found at
https://www.sudo.ws/dist/PGPKEYS.
SUPPORT
Limited free support is available via the sudo-users mailing
list, see https://www.sudo.ws/mailman/listinfo/sudo-users to
subscribe or search the archives.
DISCLAIMER
cvtsudoers is provided “AS IS” and any express or implied
warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties
of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are
disclaimed. See the LICENSE.md file distributed with sudo or
https://www.sudo.ws/about/license/ for complete details.
COLOPHON
This page is part of the sudo (execute a command as another user)
project. Information about the project can be found at
https://www.sudo.ws/. If you have a bug report for this manual
page, see ⟨https://bugzilla.sudo.ws/⟩. This page was obtained
from the project's upstream Git repository
⟨https://github.com/sudo-project/sudo⟩ on 2024-06-14. (At that
time, the date of the most recent commit that was found in the
repository was 2024-06-08.) If you discover any rendering
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