Linux - File Permission
Linux - File Permission
Modes
• File ownership is an important component of Unix that
provides a secure method for storing files. Every file in Unix
has the following attributes −
• Owner permissions − The owner's permissions determine
what actions the owner of the file can perform on the file.
• Group permissions − The group's permissions determine
what actions a user, who is a member of the group that a
file belongs to, can perform on the file.
• Other (world) permissions − The permissions for others
indicate what action all other users can perform on the file.
The Permission Indicators
While using ls -l command, it displays various information related to file permission
as follows −
$ls -l /home/amrood
-rwxr-xr-- 1 amrood users 1024 Nov 2 00:10 myfile
drwxr-xr--- 1 amrood users 1024 Nov 2 00:10 mydir
Here, the first column represents different access modes, i.e., the permission
associated with a file or a directory.
The permissions are broken into groups of threes, and each position in the group
denotes a specific permission, in this order: read (r), write (w), execute (x) −
The first three characters (2-4) represent the permissions for the file's owner. For
example, -rwxr-xr-- represents that the owner has read (r), write (w) and execute
(x) permission.
The second group of three characters (5-7) consists of the permissions for the
group to which the file belongs. For example, -rwxr-xr-- represents that the
group has read (r) and execute (x) permission, but no write permission.
The last group of three characters (8-10) represents the permissions for everyone
else. For example, -rwxr-xr-- represents that there is read (r) only permission.
File Access Modes
The permissions of a file are the first line of defense in the
security of a Unix system. The basic building blocks of Unix
permissions are the read, write, and execute permissions,
which have been described below −
Read
Grants the capability to read, i.e., view the contents of the file.
Write
Grants the capability to modify, or remove the content of the
file.
Execute
User with execute permissions can run a file as a program.
Directory Access Modes
Directory access modes are listed and organized in the same manner as
any other file. There are a few differences that need to be mentioned −
Read
Access to a directory means that the user can read the contents. The user
can look at the filenames inside the directory.
Write
Access means that the user can add or delete files from the directory.
Execute
Executing a directory doesn't really make sense, so think of this as a
traverse permission.
A user must have execute access to the bin directory in order to execute
the ls or the cd command.
Changing Permissions
• To change the file or the directory permissions, you
use the chmod (change mode) command. There are
two ways to use chmod — the symbolic mode and the
absolute mode.
• Using chmod in Symbolic Mode
• The easiest way for a beginner to modify file or
directory permissions is to use the symbolic mode.
With symbolic permissions you can add, delete, or
specify the permission set you want by using the
operators in the following table.
Sr.No. Chmod operator & Description
1 +
Adds the designated permission(s) to a file or
directory.
2 -
Removes the designated permission(s) from
a file or directory.
3 =
Sets the designated permission(s).
using testfile. Running ls -1 on the testfile shows that the
file's permissions are as follows −
$ls -l testfile
-rwxrwxr-- 1 amrood users 1024 Nov 2 00:10 testfile
Then each example chmod command from the preceding
table is run on the testfile, followed by ls –l, so you can see
the permission changes −
$chmod o+wx testfile
$ls -l testfile
-rwxrwxrwx 1 amrood users 1024 Nov 2 00:10 testfile
$chmod u-x testfile
$ls -l testfile
-rw-rwxrwx 1 amrood users 1024 Nov 2 00:10 testfile
$chmod g = rx testfile
$ls -l testfile
-rw-r-xrwx 1 amrood users 1024 Nov 2 00:10 testfile
• Here's how you can combine these
commands on a single line −
• $chmod o+wx,u-x,g = rx testfile
• $ls -l testfile
• -rw-r-xrwx 1 amrood users 1024 Nov 2
00:10 testfile
Using chmod with Absolute Permissions