update-inetd
create, remove, enable or disable entry in /etc/inetd.conf
Synopsis
update-inetd
[--file FILENAME] [--help]
[--version] [--verbose]
[--comment-chars CHARACTERS]
[--debug] [--group GROUPNAME]
--add ENTRY
update-inetd
[--file FILENAME] [--help]
[--version] [--verbose]
[--pattern PATTERN] [--multi]
[--debug] --remove SERVICE
update-inetd
[--file FILENAME] [--help]
[--version] [--verbose]
[--comment-chars CHARACTERS]
[--pattern PATTERN] [--multi]
[--debug] --enable SERVICE
update-inetd
[--file FILENAME] [--help]
[--version] [--verbose]
[--comment-chars CHARACTERS]
[--pattern PATTERN] [--multi]
[--debug] --disable SERVICE
add an example, a script, a trick and tips
examples
You’ve installed ssh (secure encrypting remote shell) and wish to
disable its unencrypted cousins:
update-inetd --comment-chars ’#’ --disable
login,shell,exec,telnet
Using a single ’#’ character as a comment-char prevents
update-inetd to re-enable the services on package upgrades.
You think the clock on your computer is often inaccurate and wish
to make sure other computers cannot read it:
update-inetd --comment-chars ’#’ --disable time,daytime
You get the clock fixed:
update-inetd --enable time,daytime
You hear a rumor that inetd is easily crashed via a SYN attack
against the time and daytime services, you want to turn off only
their TCP versions, while leaving the analogous UDP services
enabled:
update-inetd --comment-chars ’#’ --pattern tcp --disable
time,daytime
You just finished writing a POP3 server and want to install the
/etc/inetd.conf entry from the makefile:
update-inetd --group MAIL --add \
’pop-3\t\tstream\ttcp\tnowait\troot\t/usr/sbin/tcpd\t/usr/sbin/in.pop3d’
description
update-inetd
can be used to add, remove, enable or disable entries in the
/etc/inetd.conf file (you can specify a different
file by using the --file option). After
the /etc/inetd.conf file has been changed,
update-inetd will send a SIGHUP signal to the
inetd process to make sure that inetd will use the new
/etc/inetd.conf file. For Perl scripts you can also
use the Perl module DebianNet.pm . See
DebianNet(3pm) for further information.
update-inetd can also be used to add entries
that are commented out by default. They will be treated like
normal entries. That also means that if you already have an
entry that is commented out you can’t add an entry for
the same service without removing the old one first.
In accordance
with the Debian Policy, update-inetd treats entries that are
prefixed with a single ’#’ character as
commented out by a user. This means that for a user to
disable a service using update-inetd, and for the service to
remain disabled after upgrades, the user must run
update-inetd with --comment-chars
’#’ (see relevant option below). Conversely,
package maintainer scripts should not override the default
comment chars (and when they do, they must not use
’#’).
Also note that
--enable and --remove will not be
acted upon for service entries that are commented out using
anything but the value specified with
--comment-chars (or the default value if none is
specified).
options
--version
Print version information on
standard output and exit successfully.
--help
Print a usage message on standard output and exit
successfully.
--verbose
Explain what is being done.
--debug
Enables debugging mode.
--file
FILENAME
Use FILENAME instead of
/etc/inetd.conf .
--group
GROUPNAME
Specify that the new entry
should be placed in group GROUPNAME (e.g.
”MAIL"). If the group does not exist the entry
will be placed at the end of the file. The default group is
”OTHER".
--comment-chars
CHARACTERS
update-inetd uses
”#<off># ” as the default comment
characters. You can use this option to specify different
comment characters. This is only necessary if you have to
deal with two (or more) services of the same name. If you do
use this option, it is your responsibility to eventually
remove the commented out entry.
--pattern
PATTERN
This option can be used to
select a service. You only need this option if you have two
(or more) services of the same name.
--multi
If you want to disable/remove
more than one entry at a time you should use this option. If
you try to remove more than one entry at a time without
using this option the program will show a warning and prompt
the user for an explicit confirmation.
--add
ENTRY
Add an entry to
/etc/inetd.conf . A description of the ENTRY format
can be found in the inetd(8) or inetd.conf(5) manual pages
(or just look at /etc/inetd.conf). In order to prevent the
shell from changing your ENTRY definition you have to quote
the ENTRY using single or double quotes. You can use tabs
(the tab character or \t) and spaces to separate the fields
of the ENTRY. To add the ENTRY to a specific section in the
/etc/inetd.conf file please use the
--group option in addition to the
--add option.
If you are
trying to add an entry which already exists update-inetd
won’t add the entry. For uncommented entries it will
do nothing and for entries that are commented out by the
comment-chars (see option
--comment-chars ) it will enable
the existing entry. If you want to completely replace an
entry just remove the entry with the
--remove option first.
--remove
SERVICE
Remove SERVICE (e.g. telnet)
from /etc/inetd.conf
--enable
SERVICE
Enable SERVICE (e.g.
”ftp") in /etc/inetd.conf . If you want to
enable more than one SERVICE you can use a comma separated
list of services (no whitespace characters allowed).
--disable
SERVICE
Disable SERVICE (e.g.
”ftp") in /etc/inetd.conf . If you want to
disable more than one SERVICE you can use a comma separated
list of services (no whitespace characters allowed).
In order to
prevent the shell from changing your ENTRY definition you
have to quote the ENTRY using single or double quotes. You
can use tabs (the tab character or \t) and spaces to
separate the fields of the ENTRY. If you want to
enable/disable more than one SERVICE you can use a comma
separated list of services (no whitespace characters
allowed).
files
/etc/inetd.conf /var/run/inetd.pid
see also
DebianNet(3pm)
author
Peter Tobias,
<tobias@et-inf.fho-emden.de>