Why does sudoers.d ignore filenames with dots in them?

When working with the sudoers.d directory in Linux, you may have noticed that filenames with dots in them are ignored. This behavior can be confusing, especially if you are new to Linux and trying to understand how sudo works. In this article, we will explore why sudoers.d ignores filenames with dots and how you can work around this limitation.

Before we dive into the specifics, let's first understand what the sudoers.d directory is and its purpose. The sudoers.d directory is a directory on your Linux system that contains individual files with configuration rules for the sudo command. These files allow you to define who can run specific commands as the superuser or other users.

Now, let's address the question at hand: why does sudoers.d ignore filenames with dots? The reason behind this behavior is rooted in the way sudo processes the files in the sudoers.d directory. When sudo reads the sudoers file or any file in the sudoers.d directory, it expects the file to have a specific format and extension.

The expected format for the files in sudoers.d is as follows:

As you can see, the filename does not include any dots or file extensions. This is because sudo only reads files in the sudoers.d directory that do not have dots or file extensions. Any files with dots or file extensions are ignored by sudo.

This behavior is in place to ensure that only valid configuration files are processed by sudo. By enforcing this naming convention, sudo reduces the risk of accidentally including incorrect or malicious files in the sudoers.d directory.

Now that we understand why sudoers.d ignores filenames with dots, let's discuss how you can work around this limitation if you need to include files with dots in the sudoers.d directory.

One solution is to create a file without dots or extensions in the sudoers.d directory and use it as a placeholder. Inside this file, you can include a directive to include the actual configuration file with dots. Here's an example:

# Include the actual configuration file with dots
<include /path/to/actual_configuration_file>

In this example, we create a file called placeholder in the sudoers.d directory. Inside this file, we use the <include> directive to include the actual configuration file with dots, which is located at /path/to/actual_configuration_file.

By using this approach, you can include files with dots in the sudoers.d directory without violating the naming convention enforced by sudo.

In conclusion, the reason why sudoers.d ignores filenames with dots is to ensure that only valid configuration files are processed by sudo. This behavior helps maintain the security and integrity of the sudoers.d directory. If you need to include files with dots in the sudoers.d directory, you can use a placeholder file to include the actual configuration file with dots. This workaround allows you to work within the limitations imposed by sudo.

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