17

While trying to debug a mail server, I typed:

chmod -R 777 /

instead of:

chmod -R 777 .

and the icing on the cake, due to me forgetting I had changed a script I use to sign in to fix something, I did all this as root. I do not have backups of most of the system (poor choice I know).

Unlike in the questions "Recovering from chmod -R -777 /" and "What to do after 'chmod -R 777 /'?" i am still signed in as root, and not the whole system was changed, so I do have some control over the system. I also ^C d out of the command within one second to minimize damage. Since then I have physically disconnected the server from the internet.

I believe a script could fix it if it restored the permissions of the filesystem based on data from the package manager, but i do not know how I would go about doing this. If this is not possible, how would I save the data from the server to reinstall the OS?

I am aware of the potential risks of missing a file, but would prefer recovery to reinstall despite them.

this is the current output of ls -la /:

drwxrwxrwx  22 root root  4096 Sep  7  2016 .
drwxrwxrwx  22 root root  4096 Sep  7  2016 ..
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 May 18 07:55 bin
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root  4096 Sep 21 07:53 boot
drwxr-xr-x  19 root root  3180 Sep 11 20:54 dev
drwxrwxrwx  92 root root  4096 Aug 23 07:50 etc
drwxr-xr-x   4 root root  4096 May 23  2016 home
lrwxrwxrwx   1 root root    31 Feb 24  2016 initrd.img -> /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-amd64
drwxrwxrwx  18 root root  4096 Feb 24  2016 lib
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 Jun 20 07:00 lib64
drwx------   2 root root 16384 May 19  2016 lost+found
drwxrwxrwx   2 root root  4096 May  5  2015 media
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root  4096 May  5  2015 mnt
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root  4096 May 28  2016 opt
dr-xr-xr-x 148 root root     0 Sep  3 21:55 proc
drwxrwxrwx  10 root root  4096 Aug 19 17:58 root
drwxr-xr-x  22 root root   800 Sep 21 17:09 run
drwxrwxrwx   3 root root  4096 Jun 20 07:00 sbin
drwxr-xr-x   4 root root  4096 Sep 20 23:18 sftp
dr-xr-xr-x  13 root root     0 Sep  3 21:55 sys
drwxrwxrwx   8 root root  4096 Sep 21 17:17 tmp
drwxrwxrwx  11 root root  4096 Feb 24  2016 usr
drwxr-xr-x  14 root root  4096 Jun 25 06:21 var
lrwxrwxrwx   1 root root    27 Feb 24  2016 vmlinuz -> boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64

just noticed in my panic i clicked ubuntu forum not debian... im aware thats not how you fix a mail server. it was a hacky sloppy fix to see what broke

iv reposted this in the correct forum now

kaioker2
  • 281

1 Answers1

27

Fixing Permission Error

How to restore root directory permission to default?

Rule #1: If you are not comfortable with command lines, do not run any command as root.

Running chmod -R 777 / as root will break your system.

Running rm -rf / as root will result in a disaster!.

If you've ran chmod -R 777 / as root, follow these steps to restore it back:

Step 1:

Copy the following script, paste it on your console to generate fixpermission script 

echo '
chmod -R 755 /bin /boot /dev /etc/ /home /lib /lib64 \
/media /mnt /opt /run /sbin /srv /usr /var

chmod -R 777 /initrd.img /vmlinuz
chmod -R 1777 /tmp
chmod -R 555 /sys
chmod -R 555 /proc
chmod -R 700 /root

' > fixpermission

chmod +x fixpermission

./fixpermission

The above will create a script named fixpermission and run it by ./fixpermission if not already invoked.

Step 2:

Run stat -c '%A %a %n' /* to show your proper directory and their permission as restored.

Example: Your directory permission structure should look similar to the following:

root@plab:~# stat -c '%A %a %n' /*
drwxr-xr-x 755 /bin
drwxr-xr-x 755 /boot
drwxr-xr-x 755 /dev
drwxr-xr-x 755 /etc
drwxr-xr-x 755 /home
lrwxrwxrwx 777 /initrd.img
lrwxrwxrwx 777 /initrd.img.old
drwxr-xr-x 755 /lib
drwxr-xr-x 755 /lib64
drwx------ 700 /lost+found
drwxr-xr-x 755 /media
drwxr-xr-x 755 /mnt
drwxr-xr-x 755 /opt
dr-xr-xr-x 555 /proc
drwx------ 700 /root
drwxr-xr-x 755 /run
drwxr-xr-x 755 /sbin
drwxr-xr-x 755 /srv
dr-xr-xr-x 555 /sys
drwxrwxrwt 1777 /tmp
drwxr-xr-x 755 /usr
drwxr-xr-x 755 /var
lrwxrwxrwx 777 /vmlinuz
lrwxrwxrwx 777 /vmlinuz.old

Step 3:

Reboot your system!

Hope this helps.

Prince Adeyemi
  • 493