Starting a shell from scripts using su results in "no job control in this shell"

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 1

Situation

Starting with coreutils-6.12-32.26.1, when starting a shell from a su command, the command exits with:

linux:~ # su - test -c "echo 1; echo 2; bash"
1
2
bash: no job control in this shell
test@linux:~>

resulting in not being able to use bash's job control and put processes into the background with "CTRL+z bg".

Resolution

To address this, please use the option

--session-command

instead of

-c

Example:

linux:~ # su - test --session-command "echo 1; echo 2; bash"
1
2
test@linux:~>

Cause

coreutils-6.12-32.26.1 addressed a security issue which allowed a possible hijacking of a tty while executing su. The fix changed the behavior of the -c option and disables job control inside the called shell.

Disclaimer

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