Questions tagged [su]

command for substituting user i.e. logging to a session as a different user.

su which is short of "substitute user" or "super user", allows to become another user after entering their password. In Ubuntu, since the root account is disabled by default and instead is replaced by sudo.

There are ways to enable the root account for its more common usage, through is not recommended. You can have the same functionality as su using the sudo -i command or sudo -u user -i.

196 questions

159

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Why does su fail with "authentication error"?

I tried to su to root so I could install lights, but I get an authentication error when I try: user@host:~$ su Password: su: Authentication failure

asked Apr 11 '14 at 18:13

Michael

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1 answer

Restrict su to a group of users

Is there someway to restrict su to a specific group of users? Upon searching over the web, I came across IBM AIX's concept of sugroup. Whenever a user is created, attribute sugroup can be set; and only members of this group are allowed to su to that…

asked Mar 26 '15 at 18:13

Manish Kapoor

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3 answers

Disabling sudo su in Ubuntu 14.04

I need to accomplish the following things. Disable Ubuntu user. Disable sudo su for all users. Each user should able to execute sudo . I have modified my sudoer file as below: # This file MUST be edited with the 'visudo' command as…

asked Dec 19 '14 at 11:26

user1726453

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1 answer

Why can't I use `su --session-command` on Ubuntu?

In trying to solve a problem, I discovered the --session-command argument to su, as documented here. I tried to use it on my Ubuntu 12.04 system at work, but got an 'unrecognized option' error. Sure enough, it doesn't even show up on the man page…

asked Jan 14 '14 at 21:01

Lambart

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Reassigning su command

I accidentally linked my "su" command to Sublime Text binary (that's what you get when you trust hitting tab without looking...) Now, "su" just opens a SublimeTExt session. Does anybody know how can I revert to the previous version and point "su" to…

asked Feb 06 '14 at 12:01

Dimitris

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1 answer

Su without password

How can I do su from one user to another in same server without any password prompt for example su - xyz while in ABC user profile. Note:- I can't do sudo only su is required.

asked Mar 12 '17 at 06:30

Nitesh Prakash

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1 answer

What happened to su password?

What happened to the su password, please? No passwords, including blank, works. Also, how do you log in as the administrator?

asked Jul 01 '15 at 13:24

John

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1 answer

Can not enter password

Am new at ubuntu i tried to install a kdeplasmadesktop addons, and by typing su -c 'yum update kdeplasma-addons' from the terminal it ask for password but can not type any in. Thanks.

asked Mar 13 '14 at 22:51

Michael