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macOS User Privileges: Sudo Versus Root Access Risks Explained

Calendar Mar 22, 2006 • User Avatar Anthony Pell
1 min read
General Esm H446
Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

access control sudo authentication security risk user privileges macOS system logging
What are you really gaining by using sudo in the default Mac OS X configuration? First, you gain some comfort that nobody can login as root, either locally or remotely via SSH or FTP and tamper with your machine. Second, you get a log entry in /var/log/system.log every time sudo is used showing you who used it and what command was executed. These appear good enough reasons to endure the slight inconvenience of using sudo.

However, the way sudo is configured out of the box, you only need to enter your own password for authentication. This means that if someone guesses your password or steals it (and has access to it locally or via SSH), they can take over your box just as if you had root enabled.

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