NAME

mac_ntpd — policy allowing ntpd to run as non-root user

SYNOPSIS

To compile the ntpd policy into your kernel, place the following lines in your kernel configuration file:

Alternately, to load the ntpd policy module at boot time, place the following line in your kernel configuration file:

and in loader.conf(5):

mac_ntpd_load="YES"

DESCRIPTION

The mac_ntpd policy grants any process running as user ‘ntpd’ (uid 123) the privileges needed to manipulate system time, and to (re-)bind to the privileged NTP port.

When ntpd(8) is started with ‘-u <user>[:group]’ on the command line, it performs all initializations requiring root privileges, then drops root privileges by switching to the given user id. From that point on, the only privileges it requires are the ability to manipulate system time, and the ability to re-bind a UDP socket to the NTP port (port 123) after a network interface change.

With the mac_ntpd policy active, it may also be possible to start ntpd as a non-root user, because the default ntpd options don't require any additional root privileges beyond those granted by the policy.

SEE ALSO

mac(4), ntpd(8)

HISTORY

MAC first appeared in FreeBSD 5.0 and mac_ntpd first appeared in FreeBSD 12.0.