OPIEFTPD(8)OPIEFTPD(8)NAMEopieftpd - File Transfer Protocol server that uses OPIE authentication
SYNOPSISopieftpd [-d] [-l] [-t timeout ] [-T maxtimeout ] [-u umask ]
DESCRIPTIONopieftpd is the Internet File Transfer Protocol server process. The
server uses the TCP protocol and listens at the port specified in the
ftp service specification; see services(5).
OPTIONS-d Debugging information is written to the system logs.
-l Each ftp(1) session is logged in the system logs.
-t The inactivity timeout period is set to timeout seconds (the
default is 15 minutes).
-T A client may also request a different timeout period; the maxi‐
mum period allowed may be set to maxtimeout seconds with the -T
option. The default limit is 2 hours. -u Set the default umask
value to umask.
COMMANDS
The ftp server currently supports the following ftp requests; case is
not distinguished:
Request Description
ABOR abort previous command
ACCT specify account (ignored)
ALLO allocate storage (vacuously)
APPE append to a file
CDUP change to parent of current working directory
CWD change working directory
DELE delete a file
HELP give help information
LIST give a list of files in a directory
MKD make a directory
MDTM show last modification time of file
MODE specify data transfer mode
NLST give name list of files in directory
NOOP do nothing
PASS specify password
PASV prepare for server-to-server transfer
PORT specify data connection port
PWD print the current working directory
QUIT terminate session
REST restart incomplete transfer
RETR retrieve a file
RMD remove a directory
RNFR specify rename-from file name
RNTO specify rename-to file name
SITE non-standard commands (see next section)
SIZE return size of file
STAT return status of server
STOR store a file
STOU store a file with a unique name
STRU specify data transfer structure
SYST show operating system type of server system
TYPE specify data transfer type
USER specify user name
XCUP change to parent of current working directory (deprecated)
XCWD change working directory (deprecated)
XMKD make a directory (deprecated)
XPWD print the current working directory (deprecated)
XRMD remove a directory (deprecated)
The following non-standard or UNIX-specific commands are supported by
the SITE request:
Request Description
UMASK change umask (e.g. SITE UMASK 002)
IDLE set idle-timer (e.g. SITE IDLE 60)
CHMOD change mode of a file (e.g. SITE CHMOD 755 file)
HELP give help information (e.g. SITE HELP)
The remaining ftp requests specified in Internet RFC-959 are recog‐
nized, but not implemented.
MDTM and SIZE are not specified in RFC-959, but will appear in the next
updated FTP RFC.
The ftp server will abort an active file transfer only when the ABOR
command is preceded by a Telnet "Interrupt Process" (IP) signal and a
Telnet "Synch" signal in the command Telnet stream, as described in
Internet RFC-959. If a STAT command is received during a data trans‐
fer, preceded by a Telnet IP and Synch, transfer status will be
returned. opieftpd interprets file names according to the globbing
conventions used by csh(1). This allows users to utilize the metachar‐
acters *?[]{}~.
opieftpd authenticates users according to three rules:
The user name must be in the password data base, /etc/passwd, and not
have a null password. In this case, a password must be provided by the
client before any file operations may be performed.
The user name must not appear in the file /etc/ftpusers.
The user must have a standard shell returned by getusershell(3).
If the user name is anonymous or ftp, an anonymous ftp account must be
present in the password file (user ftp ). In this case, the user is
allowed to log in by specifying any password (by convention, this is
given as the client host's name).
In the last case, opieftpd takes special measures to restrict the
client's access privileges. The server performs a chroot(2) command to
the home directory of the ftp user. In order that system security is
not breached, it is recommended that the ftp subtree be constructed
with care; the following rules are recommended:
~ftp Make the home directory owned by ftp and unwritable by anyone.
~ftp/bin
Make this directory owned by the super-user and unwritable by
anyone. The program ls(1) must be present to support the LIST
command. This program should have mode 111.
~ftp/etc
Make this directory owned by the super-user and unwritable by
anyone. The files passwd(5) and group(5) must be present for the
ls(1) command to be able to produce owner names rather than num‐
bers. The password field in passwd is not used, and should not
contain real encrypted passwords. These files should be mode
444.
~ftp/pub
Make this directory mode 777 and owned by ftp. Users should
then place files which are to be accessible via the anonymous
account in this directory.
SEE ALSOftpd(8), ftp(1), opie(4), opiekey(1), opiepasswd(1), opieinfo(1),
opiesu(1), opieftpd(8), opiekeys(5), opieaccess(5)BUGS
The anonymous account is inherently dangerous and should avoided when
possible. In opieftpd, it is a compile-time option that should be dis‐
abled if it is not being used. The server must run as the super-user
to create sockets with privileged port numbers. It maintains an effec‐
tive user id of the logged in user, reverting to the super-user only
when binding addresses to sockets. The possible security holes have
been scrutinized, but are possibly incomplete.
HISTORY
The ftpd command appeared in 4.2BSD.
AUTHOR
Originally written for BSD, ftpd was modified at NRL by Randall Atkin‐
son, Dan McDonald, and Craig Metz to support OTP authentication.
CONTACT
OPIE is discussed on the Bellcore "S/Key Users" mailing list. To join,
send an email request to:
skey-users-request@thumper.bellcore.com
10 January 1995 OPIEFTPD(8)