Running nvidia-settings as different user

Fuss · 01-04-10, 08:51 AM

Hi there,

Here's what I want to do: I'd like to plot the GPU temperatures I get from the '/usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp' command using Cacti. I'm able to run this command as root and as my personal username (which is the only one really running an X session).

However, I need to be able to get the temperature (in other words, to execute nvidia-settings) as user www-data, which is obviously not running an X session.

When I do this now, I get following information, as the display cannot be opened:

Code:

$ /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp
No protocol specified

ERROR: Cannot open display ':0'.


ERROR: Unable to query attribute GPUCoreTemp specified in query 'GPUCoreTemp' (no Display connection).

$

Is support for the above on a road map? Does anybody know a workaround for this?
I guess I could ssh to localhost to my account without a password (only using a key) and return the result but this would compromise security somehow (as the www-data user will have access to the key). Another alternative would be to cron this command and cat the output to a file every x minutes (which is what I'm planning to do if no better alternative can be found).

Thanks.

*edit: tried the suid bit as well, without luck (see below).

Code:

$ /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp

(process:27049): Gtk-WARNING **: This process is currently running setuid or setgid.
This is not a supported use of GTK+. You must create a helper
program instead. For further details, see:

    http://www.gtk.org/setuid.html

Refusing to initialize GTK+.
$

gksudo fails as well, with and without suid bit on the nvidia-settings binary:

Code:

$ gksudo -u fuss /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp

(gksudo:27274): Gtk-WARNING **: cannot open display:
$

Lysius · 01-05-10, 04:57 AM

At least on fedora it works to add

Code:

www-data ALL= (username) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c \:0 -tq GPUCoreTemp

to /etc/sudoers

and then run
sudo -u username /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp
as www-data

"username" has to be replaced of course

Fuss · 01-05-10, 06:59 AM

Thanks Lysius - this solved the problem and is much more elegant than the workarounds I proposed. I hadn't heard about the NOPASSWD option yet.

01-04-10, 08:51 AM	#1
Fuss Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2	Running nvidia-settings as different user Hi there, Here's what I want to do: I'd like to plot the GPU temperatures I get from the '/usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp' command using Cacti. I'm able to run this command as root and as my personal username (which is the only one really running an X session). However, I need to be able to get the temperature (in other words, to execute nvidia-settings) as user www-data, which is obviously not running an X session. When I do this now, I get following information, as the display cannot be opened: Code: $ /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp No protocol specified ERROR: Cannot open display ':0'. ERROR: Unable to query attribute GPUCoreTemp specified in query 'GPUCoreTemp' (no Display connection). $ Is support for the above on a road map? Does anybody know a workaround for this? I guess I could ssh to localhost to my account without a password (only using a key) and return the result but this would compromise security somehow (as the www-data user will have access to the key). Another alternative would be to cron this command and cat the output to a file every x minutes (which is what I'm planning to do if no better alternative can be found). Thanks. edit: tried the suid bit as well, without luck (see below). Code: $ /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp (process:27049): Gtk-WARNING : This process is currently running setuid or setgid. This is not a supported use of GTK+. You must create a helper program instead. For further details, see: http://www.gtk.org/setuid.html Refusing to initialize GTK+. $ gksudo fails as well, with and without suid bit on the nvidia-settings binary: Code: $ gksudo -u fuss /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp (gksudo:27274): Gtk-WARNING *: cannot open display: $

01-05-10, 04:57 AM	#2
Lysius Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 98	Re: Running nvidia-settings as different user At least on fedora it works to add Code: www-data ALL= (username) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c \:0 -tq GPUCoreTemp to /etc/sudoers and then run sudo -u username /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -c :0 -tq GPUCoreTemp as www-data "username" has to be replaced of course

01-05-10, 06:59 AM	#3
Fuss Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2	Re: Running nvidia-settings as different user Thanks Lysius - this solved the problem and is much more elegant than the workarounds I proposed. I hadn't heard about the NOPASSWD option yet.