HP-UX System Administrator's Guide: Security Management HP-UX 11i v3 (B3921-90020, September 2010)

• u (user/owner)
• g (group)
• o (all others; also known as world)
The r permission allows users to view or print the file. The w permission allows users
to write (modify) the file. The x permission allows users to execute (run) the file or to
search directories.
Figure 5-1 shows the traditional permissions fields.
Figure 5-1 File and Directory Permission Fields
permission
owner group others
rwx rwx rwx
r read
w write
x execute
The user/owner of a file or directory is generally the person who created it. If you are
the owner of a file, you can change the file permissions with the chmod command.
The group specifies the group to which the file belongs. If you are the owner of a file,
you can change the group ID of the file with the chgrp command.
The meanings of the three types of permissions differ slightly between ordinary files
and directories. See Table 5-1 for more information.
Table 5-1 Differences Between File and Directory Privileges
DirectoryFilePermission
Contents can be read, but not
searched. Normally r and x are
used together.
Contents can be viewed or
printed.
r (read)
Entries can be added or removed.Contents can be changed or
deleted.
w (write)
Directory can be searched.File can be used as a program.
x (execute)
88 File System Security