How to create users in Linux using PHP?

Anon

hi,

I want to create user accounts on linux through PHP, when I am submitting the form. If anyone can help out me in this situation, it will be better. Give me the code for the same.

Thanks in Advance
Harish Kumar

Anon

I know this isn't what you asked, but this is a very bad idea in general. What you are basically doing is giving a non-trusted user (nobody,www,whatever) access to your most crucial system files.

It -can- be done, by writing a setuid program (don't know if linux allows setuid shell scripts, Solaris doesn't) and calling it from php with exec or system, or using something like sudo.

My advice would be to take a step back and analyze -why- you want to do this, and find a better solution.

For example, if you are trying to add email accounts, you could use ldap or a database and one of the many email packages (postfix, cyrus) that can auth against these instead of the system files. At least that way if your web server is compromised they don't have shell access.

Just my .02.

Ken Mugrage

Anon

Ok what you said made sense, but just out of curiousity...

Let's say he's making a form driven front end for his sys-admin work... or maybe he has no ssh client on his home machine and doesn't want to drive in to work to add a user or whatever... the reason he's building isn't important, he's just building it. How do you suggest he do this as securely as possible? It's an interesting security question (to me anyway).

Anon

I outlined a couple ideas in my original response. He could use sudo to call an adduser script, and just exec() it from php. Something in the script requiring SSL would certainly be a good idea.

To be honest I've never really thought through all of the details and potential gotchas.

I guess if you had to do it, I'd suggest looking into something like webmin where the work is done instead of reinventing.

Ken