From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!cires!nbires!crp Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Title: Re: More on SUID and exec Article-I.D.: nbires.104 Posted: Sat Feb 12 21:01:14 1983 Received: Tue Feb 15 07:54:49 1983 References: mitccc.296 You can accomplish what you want to using an SUID process, but you have to have an additional level of directory. "Carrying" the user into the forbidden directory isn't enough since the suid program abandons him to his own permissions before the exec. The error you are getting from exec is telling you that permission is denied for searching the current directory. Try the following: drwx------ games buffer drwx--x--x games buffer/gamesdir -rwx--x--x games buffer/gamesdir/forbidden_fruit The suid program owned by games carries the user in past the buffer directory (by chdir("/whatever/buffer/gamesdir")) to a place which the unassisted user can search. In particular, the user can execute programs in the current directory or below in the hierarchy. Note, however, that a pathname with ../ will not work, because the user can't walk upward out of gamesdir (pwd, for example, won't work).