chmod(2)
- NetBSD Manual Pages
CHMOD(2) NetBSD System Calls Manual CHMOD(2)
NAME
chmod, lchmod, fchmod, fchmodat -- change mode of file
LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/stat.h>
int
chmod(const char *path, mode_t mode);
int
lchmod(const char *path, mode_t mode);
int
fchmod(int fd, mode_t mode);
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
int
fchmodat(int fd, const char *path, mode_t mode, int flag);
DESCRIPTION
The function chmod() sets the file permission bits of the file specified
by the pathname path to mode. fchmod() sets the permission bits of the
specified file descriptor fd. lchmod() is like chmod() except in the
case where the named file is a symbolic link, in which case lchmod() sets
the permission bits of the link, while chmod() sets the bits of the file
the link references.
fchmodat() works the same way as chmod() (or lchmod() if
AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW is set in flag) except if path is relative. In that
case, it is looked up from a directory whose file descriptor was passed
as fd. Search permission is required on this directory. fd except if
that file descriptor was opened with the O_SEARCH flag. fd can be set to
AT_FDCWD in order to specify the current directory.
chmod() verifies that the process owner (user) either owns the file spec-
ified by path (or fd), or is the super-user. A mode is created from or'd
permission bit masks defined in <sys/stat.h>:
#define S_IRWXU 0000700 /* RWX mask for owner */
#define S_IRUSR 0000400 /* R for owner */
#define S_IWUSR 0000200 /* W for owner */
#define S_IXUSR 0000100 /* X for owner */
#define S_IRWXG 0000070 /* RWX mask for group */
#define S_IRGRP 0000040 /* R for group */
#define S_IWGRP 0000020 /* W for group */
#define S_IXGRP 0000010 /* X for group */
#define S_IRWXO 0000007 /* RWX mask for other */
#define S_IROTH 0000004 /* R for other */
#define S_IWOTH 0000002 /* W for other */
#define S_IXOTH 0000001 /* X for other */
#define S_ISUID 0004000 /* set user id on execution */
#define S_ISGID 0002000 /* set group id on execution */
#define S_ISVTX 0001000 /* sticky bit */
The mode ISVTX (the `sticky bit') can be set on regular files, but has no
effect. For historical reasons this can be done only by the super-user.
If mode ISVTX (the `sticky bit') is set on a directory, an unprivileged
user may not delete or rename files of other users in that directory.
The sticky bit may be set by any user on a directory which the user owns
or has appropriate permissions.
For more information about the history and properties of the sticky bit,
see sticky(7).
Changing the owner of a file turns off the set-user-id and set-group-id
bits; writing to a file turns off the set-user-id and set-group-id bits
unless the user is the super-user. This makes the system somewhat more
secure by protecting set-user-id (set-group-id) files from remaining set-
user-id (set-group-id) if they are modified, at the expense of a degree
of compatibility.
RETURN VALUES
The chmod(), lchmod(), fchmod(), and fchmodat() functions return the
value 0 if successful; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global
variable errno is set to indicate the error.
ERRORS
chmod(), lchmod() and fchmodat() will fail and the file mode will be
unchanged if:
[EACCES] Search permission is denied for a component of the
path prefix.
[EFAULT] path points outside the process's allocated address
space.
[EFTYPE] The effective user ID is not the super-user, the mode
includes the sticky bit (S_ISVTX), and path does not
refer to a directory.
[EIO] An I/O error occurred while reading from or writing to
the file system.
[ELOOP] Too many symbolic links were encountered in translat-
ing the pathname.
[ENAMETOOLONG] A component of a pathname exceeded {NAME_MAX} charac-
ters, or an entire path name exceeded {PATH_MAX} char-
acters.
[ENOENT] The named file does not exist.
[ENOTDIR] A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
[EPERM] The effective user ID does not match the owner of the
file and the effective user ID is not the super-user;
or the mode includes the setgid bit (S_ISGID) but the
file's group is neither the effective group ID nor is
it in the group access list.
[EROFS] The named file resides on a read-only file system.
In addition, fchmodat() will fail if:
[EBADF] path does not specify an absolute path and fd is nei-
ther AT_FDCWD nor a valid file descriptor open for
reading or searching.
[ENOTDIR] path is not an absolute path and fd is a file descrip-
tor associated with a non-directory file.
fchmod() will fail if:
[EBADF] The descriptor is not valid.
[EFTYPE] The effective user ID is not the super-user, the mode
includes the sticky bit (S_ISVTX), and fd does not
refer to a directory.
[EINVAL] fd refers to a socket, not to a file.
[EIO] An I/O error occurred while reading from or writing to
the file system.
[EPERM] The effective user ID does not match the owner of the
file and the effective user ID is not the super-user;
or the mode includes the setgid bit (S_ISGID) but the
file's group is neither the effective group ID nor is
it in the group access list.
[EROFS] The file resides on a read-only file system.
SEE ALSO
chmod(1), chflags(2), chown(2), open(2), stat(2), getmode(3), setmode(3),
sticky(7), symlink(7)
STANDARDS
The chmod() function conforms to ISO/IEC 9945-1:1990 (``POSIX.1'').
fchmodat() function conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (``POSIX.1'').
HISTORY
The chmod() function call appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX. The fchmod()
function call appeared in 4.2BSD. The lchmod() function call appeared in
NetBSD 1.3.
NetBSD 9.1 September 1, 2019 NetBSD 9.1
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