Question

How do I configure vsftpd to force the UID for uploaded files?

Asked by: Ravelstaff

I am running a test web development server and use vsftpd to upload updated files to the web server root folder. The files in the root folder of the server are all chmod'ed to run as the user and group of the web server account that runs the web server.

When I chmod g+s the root folder itself all subsequent uploads to the root folder via vsftpd are set to the group access attribute of the root folder itself; i.e. when I connect using my personal user account the file's group once uploaded becomes that of the web server's root folder and not my user's default group. I need to do the same thing for the owner account of the uploaded file; i.e. when I upload it using my personal account on the server the uploaded file needs to be automatically changed to be owned by the user account that runs the apache server.

Anybody have any ideas? I have managed to do this before on another ftp server I configured but for the life of me I cannot remember how to do this, and neither can I find anything online, at least not so far. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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Asked On
2009-08-07 at 10:27:43ID24635446
Tags

vsftpd ftp uid

Topics

Linux Network Security

,

Linux

,

Computer Servers

Participating Experts
1
Points
50
Comments
4

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Answers

 

by: arnoldPosted on 2009-08-07 at 10:47:50ID: 25045270

Are you uploading these files after you login or are you uploading the files as an anonymous user?
To provide the contents of the files through the web server, the files do not need to be owned by the user with whose credentials the web service runs.  The files need to be group/world readable.

You can control what the permissions on the files will be when uploaded through the use of the mask
mask 0022 will be equivalent to chmod 755 on directories/execs and 644 on everything else.
Mask removes the defined bits from the access rights.
2 is write.

see if within your FTP server configuration you have a mask defined.

The other issue is a security concern i.e. one should not have an anonymous FTP configuration that uploads data for distribution by a web server.

This is in some cases virus/trojan/bots are distributed.

 

by: RavelstaffPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:09:54ID: 25045443

I have disabled anonymous access to the ftp server for exactly the security concerns you mentioned. The vsftp conf file does use a umask of 022 so the files are world readable.

Are there any security concerns that I have to be concerned about then for uploading the files using a user account that is different from the account that Apache uses and not chown'ing the uploaded files afterwards (or have it automatically set to the wwwrun user Apache uses by some means) when the file resides in the root folder of the web server?

I mean, I cannot see that there should be a problem with having these uploaded files in the root folder of the web server being owned by the user accounts that are different from the web server account, right?

 

by: arnoldPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:17:39ID: 25045522

That is correct.

The only time files need to be owned by the apache user is when those files can be modified via a form/cgi/php code, etc.

not chowning the files makes it more secure i.e. you do not lose data if the web server is compromised.

 

by: RavelstaffPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:25:23ID: 25045604

Great! Thanks for your input.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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