CODEWITHSUNDEEP
linuxbashshellscriptingsuse
Redson
Redson

Reputation: 2140

How do you keep the password hidden when invoked during the su command?

This is the first time it has happened to me where I am using the su command and it actually displays the password on the terminal and doesn't stay hidden. Here is my code snippet:

sshpass -p "password" ssh -q [email protected] "su -lc 'mkdir temp/'"

Code explanation: I am accessing a remote server and trying be root on that server to create a folder. In doing so I have to use the su command and it prompts me for the password. When I enter the password, it gets displayed and doesn't stay hidden. How do I fix that?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1034

Answers (2)

Marcelo Rodovalho
Marcelo Rodovalho

Reputation: 923

Just like I replied to you here.

It's possible to keep it "hidden" from the command line:

Edit your /etc/profile and paste there:

export SSHPASS='my_pass_here'

Use the -e argument with sshpass command

$ sshpass -e ssh [email protected] 'ls -ll'

Another option is to save your password in a different file and use the -f argument:

$ sshpass -f password_filename ssh [email protected] 'ls -la'

But the best solution is to follow the @Hristo Mohamed suggestion:

In general please AVOID using sshpass with a password.

You can set up easily a generate ssh key just to do this job and then remove it.

Upvotes: 0

lurker
lurker

Reputation: 58324

The solution is to allocate a pseudo TTY (using the -t option on ssh):

sshpass -p "password" ssh -t -q [email protected] "su -lc 'mkdir temp/'"

Without this, there's no "terminal" in this context and su is unable to disable echo of the password.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions