# hosts.equiv(5) - man - phpMan

[HOSTS.EQUIV(5)]                        Linux Programmer's Manual                       [HOSTS.EQUIV(5)]



## NAME
       hosts.equiv  -  list  of  hosts and users that are granted "trusted" **r** command access to your
       system

## DESCRIPTION
       The file _/etc/hosts.equiv_ allows or denies hosts and  users  to  use  the  **r**-commands  (e.g.,
       **rlogin**, **rsh**, or **rcp**) without supplying a password.

       The file uses the following format:

       _+|[-]hostname|+@netgroup|-@netgroup_ _[+|[-]username|+@netgroup|-@netgroup]_

       The  _hostname_  is  the name of a host which is logically equivalent to the local host.  Users
       logged into that host are allowed to access like-named user accounts on the local host  with‐
       out  supplying a password.  The _hostname_ may be (optionally) preceded by a plus (+) sign.  If
       the plus sign is used alone, it allows any host to access your system.   You  can  explicitly
       deny  access  to  a host by preceding the _hostname_ by a minus (-) sign.  Users from that host
       must always supply additional credentials, including possibly a password. For  security  rea‐
       sons you should always use the FQDN of the hostname and not the short hostname.

       The  _username_  entry grants a specific user access to all user accounts (except root) without
       supplying a password.  That means the user is NOT restricted  to  like-named  accounts.   The
       _username_  may  be (optionally) preceded by a plus (+) sign.  You can also explicitly deny ac‐
       cess to a specific user by preceding the _username_ with a minus (-) sign.  This says that  the
       user is not trusted no matter what other entries for that host exist.

       Netgroups can be specified by preceding the netgroup by an @ sign.

       Be extremely careful when using the plus (+) sign.  A simple typographical error could result
       in a standalone plus sign.  A standalone plus sign is a wildcard character  that  means  "any
       host"!

## FILES
       _/etc/hosts.equiv_

## NOTES
       Some  systems  will  honor the contents of this file only when it has owner root and no write
       permission for anybody else.  Some exceptionally paranoid systems even require that there  be
       no other hard links to the file.

       Modern systems use the Pluggable Authentication Modules library (PAM).  With PAM a standalone
       plus sign is considered a wildcard character which means "any host" only when the  word  _pro�_��
       _miscuous_  is  added  to  the  auth component line in your PAM file for the particular service
       (e.g., **rlogin**).

## EXAMPLES
       Below are some example _/etc/host.equiv_ or _~/.rhosts_ files.

       Allow any user to log in from any host:

           +

       Allow any user from _host_ with a matching local account to log in:

           host

       Note: the use of _+host_ is never a valid syntax, including attempting to specify that any user
       from the host is allowed.

       Allow any user from _host_ to log in:

           host +

       Note:  this  is distinct from the previous example since it does not require a matching local
       account.

       Allow _user_ from _host_ to log in as any non-root user:

           host user

       Allow all users with matching local accounts from _host_ to log in except for _baduser_:

           host -baduser
           host

       Deny all users from _host_:

           -host

       Note: the use of _-host_ _-user_ is never a valid syntax, including attempting to specify that  a
       particular user from the host is not trusted.

       Allow all users with matching local accounts on all hosts in a _netgroup_:

           +@netgroup

       Disallow all users on all hosts in a _netgroup_:

           -@netgroup

       Allow all users in a _netgroup_ to log in from _host_ as any non-root user:

           host +@netgroup

       Allow all users with matching local accounts on all hosts in a _netgroup_ except _baduser_:

           +@netgroup -baduser
           +@netgroup

       Note:  the  deny statements must always precede the allow statements because the file is pro‐
       cessed sequentially until the first matching rule is found.

### SEE ALSO
       [**rhosts**(5)], [**rlogind**(8)], [**rshd**(8)]

## COLOPHON
       This page is part of release 5.10 of the Linux  _man-pages_  project.   A  description  of  the
       project,  information about reporting bugs, and the latest version of this page, can be found
       at <https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/>.



## Linux                                        2020-06-09                               [HOSTS.EQUIV(5)]