SYS$SETPRV (OpenVMS) SYS$SETPRV (OpenVMS)
NAME
setuid - change user ID for a running process
setgid - change group ID for a running process
SYS$SETPRV - Set process privilege
EXPLAINATION
The Digital UNIX setuid family of system calls are similar to the Open‐
VMS SYS$SETPRV system call. UNIX systems generally do not have fine-
grained privileges; instead, they have one user (typically user ID 0,
known as root or superuser) that has all privileges. To perform a sys‐
tem operation that would otherwise require privileges a normal user can
execute a program that changes the running programs user ID to the
root user's ID and perform the system operation. An example of this is
the passwd program that changes the password file. The protection of
the program is set such that the user becomes root upon execution of
passwd. Programs that are run as above (set-uid programs) must change
user ID of a process back to the real users ID if a shell is spawned.
RELATED INFORMATION
Digital UNIX Functions:
setuid(2), setgid(2), seteuid(2), setegid(2), setruid(2), passwd(1)
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SYS$SETPRV (OpenVMS)
