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Ivan
Asked: 2010-12-20 22:33:23 +0800 CST

How to prevent system applications (like the Software Center) from asking for password?

  • 772

I'd like Software Center, Update Manager and some other system management applications to work without asking for password (like sudo does if configured with NOPASSWD) but only asking for a confirmation instead, or even without any confirmation. At the same time I wouldn't like to use no user password at all. Is this reachable?

security password sudo policykit xubuntu

6 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Ubuntu Software Center authorization uses policy kit. When requested for the authentication during the remove action you can expand the "Details" pointer to see the action that is being invoked. It's org.debian.apt.install-or-remove-packages . You can change the corresponding policy to not request for authentication:

    Edit /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.debian.apt.policy, search for org.debian.apt.install-or-remove-packages, then find for the defaults section, replace auth_admin and auth_admin_keep with yes .

    • 20

  2. Adding to joão-pinto's answer, since software center now uses snapcraft's policies, the file to be modified should be this one:

    /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/io.snapcraft.snapd.policy

    look for the policy with id io.snapcraft.snapd.manage and change all entries under defaults to yes.

    You should have this:

      <action id="io.snapcraft.snapd.manage">
    <description gettext-domain="snappy">Install, update, or remove packages</description>
    <message gettext-domain="snappy">Authentication is required to install, update, or remove packages</message>
    <defaults>
      <allow_any>yes</allow_any>
      <allow_inactive>yes</allow_inactive>
      <allow_active>yes</allow_active>
    </defaults>
  </action>

    Tested on Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS

    • 2

  3. Towards a more generic solution

    Since the policies/actions can change from version to version (there are two other answers mentioning two other different files), the best way to handle this is:

    • Install some package for testing
    • Check /var/log/auth.log
    • Identify the file used and the action and make the changes according to this

    After installing a package, the entries in /var/log/auth.log were these:

    Apr 13 02:06:14 dragon PackageKit: uid 1000 is trying to obtain org.freedesktop.packagekit.package-install auth (only_trusted:1)
Apr 13 02:06:25 dragon polkitd(authority=local): Operator of unix-session:1 successfully authenticated as unix-user:jgr to gain TEMPORARY authorization for action org.freedesktop.packagekit.package-install for system-bus-name::1.79 [/usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk] (owned by unix-user:jgr)
Apr 13 02:06:25 dragon PackageKit: uid 1000 obtained auth for org.freedesktop.packagekit.package-install

    I've searched and found the file where the action is:

    sudo grep -l -r "org.freedesktop.packagekit.package-install" /usr/share/polkit-1/
/usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.freedesktop.packagekit.policy

    Using this information, on my Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS, I edit the following file: /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.freedesktop.packagekit.policy.

    The I've changed the <defaults> on action: <action id="org.freedesktop.packagekit.package-install"> to:

        <defaults>
      <allow_any>yes</allow_any>
      <allow_inactive>yes</allow_inactive>
      <allow_active>yes</allow_active>
    </defaults>
    • 2

  4. Just put in /etc/sudoers all this and it will work

    # User privilege specification
root    ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

# Members of the admin group may gain root privileges
%admin ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

# Allow members of group sudo to execute any command
%sudo   ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
    • 0

  5. These methods with NOPASSWD: ALL seem to result in no password being asked. this is not what I want. I want to be asked the ROOT password.

    Seems the right hint was to add "Defaults rootpw" to sudoers. At least Synaptic now starts after receiving the root password. Nice. I can use Ubuntu the Debian way :)

    • -1

  6. Note:- Disabling password prompts might be a security risk

    Open the terminal window from Applications --> accessories --> terminal, run the command:

    sudo visudo

    Find the line that says

    %admin ALL=(ALL) ALL

    and change it to

    %admin ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

    Save and exit the file

    • -4