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Manual page for su(1M)

su - become super-user or another user

SYNOPSIS

su [ - ] [ username [ arg ... ] ]

AVAILABILITY

SUNWcsu

DESCRIPTION

su allows one to become another user without logging off. The default user name is root (super-user).

To use su, the appropriate password must be supplied (unless the invoker is already root). If the password is correct, su creates a new shell process that has the real and effective user ID, group IDs, and supplementary group list set to those of the specified username. The new shell will be the shell specified in the shell field of username's password file entry (see passwd.4 If no shell is specified, /usr/bin/sh is used (see sh.1 To return to normal user ID privileges, type an EOF character (CTRL-D) to exit the new shell.

Any additional arguments given on the command line are passed to the new shell. When using programs such as sh, an arg of the form -c string executes string using the shell and an arg of -r gives the user a restricted shell.

If the first argument to su is ` - ' (dash), the environment will be changed to what would be expected if the user actually logged in as the specified user. This is accomplished by invoking the program used as the shell with a first argument value whose initial character is ` - ' (dash), thus simulating a login. If the first argument to su is not ` - ' (dash), the environment is passed along unchanged, with the exception of $PATH, which is controlled by PATH and SUPATH in /etc/default/su.

All attempts to become another user using su are logged in the log file /var/adm/sulog (see sulog.4

EXAMPLES

To become user bin while retaining your previously exported environment, execute:

: example% su bin

To become user bin but change the environment to what would be expected if bin had originally logged in, execute:

: example% su - bin

To execute command with the temporary environment and permissions of user bin, type:

: example% su - bin -c "command args"

ENVIRONMENT

If any of the LC_* variables ( LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, LC_TIME, LC_COLLATE, LC_NUMERIC, and LC_MONETARY ) (see environ.5 are not set in the environment, the operational behavior of su for each corresponding locale category is determined by the value of the LANG environment variable. If LC_ALL is set, its contents are used to override both the LANG and the other LC_* variables. If none of the above variables are set in the environment, the "C" (U.S. style) locale determines how su behaves.

LC_CTYPE: Determines how su handles characters. When LC_CTYPE is set to a valid value, su can display and handle text and filenames containing valid characters for that locale. su can display and handle Extended Unix Code (EUC) characters where any individual character can be 1, 2, or 3 bytes wide. su can also handle EUC characters of 1, 2, or more column widths. In the "C" locale, only characters from ISO 8859-1 are valid.
LC_MESSAGES: Determines how diagnostic and informative messages are presented. This includes the language and style of the messages, and the correct form of affirmative and negative responses. In the "C" locale, the messages are presented in the default form found in the program itself (in most cases, U.S. English).

FILES

$HOME/.profile: user's login commands for sh and ksh
/etc/passwd: system's password file
/etc/profile: system-wide sh and ksh login commands
/var/adm/sulog: log file
/etc/default/su: the default parameters that reside here are:

SULOG:: If defined, all attempts to su to another user are logged in the indicated file.
CONSOLE:: If defined, all attempts to su to root are logged on the console.
PATH:: Default path. (/usr/bin:)
SUPATH:: Default path for a user invoking su to root. (/usr/sbin:/usr/bin)
SYSLOG:: Determines whether the syslog.3 LOG_AUTH facility should be used to log all su attempts. LOG_NOTICE messages are generated for su's to root, LOG_INFO messages are generated for su's to other users, and LOG_CRIT messages are generated for failed su attempts.