MacOS – Sudo folder empty/broke

macospermissionsudo

For some reason my I can't run sudo, every time I try, I just get the error sudo: unable to open /var/db/sudo/ts/user: Invalid argument

The folder listed in the error (/private/var/db/sudo) is completly empty, which explains why I can't run sudo, but how can I fix it, without sudo?

Things I already tried and other notes:

· Creating new (admin) account: still same error

· Both USB-ports are broken, so know backup of whole system possible (most important files still saved in cloud)

· I'm aware that I can reinstall OSX via ⌘+R or ⌘+⌥+R

Best Answer

Reinstalling the OS will fix /private/var and may well be needed. I’d start there, and test sudo again.

Next consider booting to single user mode and make a new admin user by removing one file only - rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

Then you’ll know if sudo and your admin account and system are operational or you need to erase and start over to restore files from a backup.

Neither of the above steps will erase any files you have - just will correct system files and create a new user with clean admin permissions and home folder. That doesn't mean if your drive is failing, this won't erase everything or your drive is immune to failure - just that Apple macOS install doesn't erase any user data or settings - it's designed to upgrade everything in place and fix things. You have to jump through lots of hoops with warnings to erase and then install. A normal install is designed to be safe to your data.

Related Solutions

Sudo with Sidekick

You can disable password prompt when calling sudo in combination with certain commands by editing the sudoers file. This is done by opening a terminal and running sudo visudo. You have to add the follwing lines

Cmnd_Alias SIDEKICK_CMDS = /full/path/to/the/command1,  /full/path/to/the/command2

yourUsername ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: SIDEKICK_CMDS

Be careful with this, as it may lead to security risks. It enables anyone logged in with your account ( so not just sidekick) to run the commands in the list without a password prompt.

For a full description of the sudoers options check the manpage : man sudoers

Allow Sudo to Another User Without Password – How to

sudo can do just that for you :)

It needs a bit of configuration though, but once done you would only do this:

sudo -u user2 -s

And you would be logged in as user2 without entering a password.

Configuration

To configure sudo, you must edit its configuration file via: visudo. Note: this command will open the configuration using the vi text editor, if you are unconfortable with that, you need to set another editor (using export EDITOR=<command>) before executing the following line. Another command line editor sometimes regarded as easier is nano, so you would do export EDITOR=/usr/bin/nano. You usually need super user privilege for visudo:

sudo visudo

This file is structured in different section, the aliases, then defaults and finally at the end you have the rules. This is where you need to add the new line. So you navigate at the end of the file and add this:

user1    ALL=(user2) NOPASSWD: /bin/bash

You can replace also /bin/bash by ALL and then you could launch any command as user2 without a password: sudo -u user2 <command>.

If you want to be able to switch to any user just use

user1    ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /bin/bash

Update

I have just seen your comment regarding Skype. You could consider adding Skype directly to the sudo's configuration file. I assume you have Skype installed in your Applications folder:

user1    ALL=(user2) NOPASSWD: /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/MacOS/Skype

Then you would call from the terminal:

sudo -u user2 /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/MacOS/Skype