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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

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Tip: sudoedit often overlooked as an alternative to sudo vim (beehaw.org)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

20 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This is a reminder to user sudoedit. Especially useful for Vim and Neovim users who have a rich and personal configuration.

sudoedit /etc/fstab

is also an option. sudoedit is a short form for sudo -e. It uses the default editor set int EDITOR or VISUAL variable. The difference to sudo vim FILE or sudo nano FILE is, that sudoedit FILE will use the editor configuration from the current user instead from the root. For me this makes a huge difference, because my plugins and settings for Neovim are not used when doing sudo vim.

Man page: https://linux.die.net/man/8/sudoedit

-e' The -e (edit) option indicates that, instead of running a command, the user wishes to edit one or more files. In lieu of a command, the string "sudoedit" is used when consulting the security policy. If the user is authorized by the policy, the following steps are taken:

Temporary copies are made of the files to be edited with the owner set to the invoking user.

The editor specified by the policy is run to edit the temporary files. The sudoers policy uses the SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL and EDITOR environment variables (in that order). If none of SUDO_EDITOR, VISUAL or EDITOR are set, the first program listed in the editor sudoers(5) option is used.

If they have been modified, the temporary files are copied back to their original location and the temporary versions are removed.

If the specified file does not exist, it will be created. Note that unlike most commands run by sudo, the editor is run with the invoking user's environment unmodified. If, for some reason, sudo is unable to update a file with its edited version, the user will receive a warning and the edited copy will remain in a temporary file.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Also. With sudo vim (or other editor) you can do privilege escalation, became root.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Yes. And this has huge implications, as as root user in Vim you can load and edit other files. While sudoedit is limited to your personal environment, as while the editing process no root privileges are in use. (I think...)