Wvdial: Permission denied

Support knowledgebase (hoe_wv_perm_tty)
Applies to

SuSE Linux: Versions since 6.2
wvdial: Version 1.2-

Symptom:

After invocation of wvdial as normal user (not root) the message
--> Cannot open /dev/ttySx: Permission denied
(x is a number between 0 and 4) appears and wvdial aborts.

Cause:

This behavior occurs when your PPPD is not terminated correcty after the dial-up. PPPD is started by wvdial and changes the permissions of your serial port (/dev/ttySx) during the internet connection. The rights will only be reset when PPPD is terminated correctly (e.g. by terminating wvdial using CTRL-C). Otherwise (e.g. if wvdial is terminated by closing the terminal-window in which it is running) the permissions stay.

Solution:

The right permissions have to be set manually:
  1. Login as user root
  2. Execute the following command on console or in a terminal-window (xterm, kvt, etc.):
    chmod 660 /dev/ttySx
    . x has to be replaced with the number you saw in the error message above.
In some cases, the permissions are not correcty reset even if PPPD was terminated correctly. However it was not possible for us to reproduce this error. As a solution you can modify the file /etc/ppp/ip-up:
  1. Look for the line
    ppp*)
  2. Then look for the following line
    ip-down)
  3. Before the line ;; enter the new line:
    chmod 660 /dev/ttySx
    x has to be replaced with the number you saw in the error message above.

Keywords: WVDIAL, TTYS, PERMISSION DENIED, PERMISSIONS, MODEM, INTERNET, PPPD

Categories: Network

SDB-hoe_wv_perm_tty, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 14. Mär 2000
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 19. Apr 2000 by me (sdb_gen 1.40.0)