Summary
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The new Raspberry Pi OS version disables passwordless sudo by default on new installations.
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sudo prompts for the current user’s password; correct entry is stored in memory for five minutes.
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The change is intended to improve security, but some users complain that it disrupts their experienced workflows.
Adding new security measures to your favorite software is always a double-edged sword. On the one hand, an additional layer of protection makes it difficult for malicious actors to enter the system or spread viruses. On the other hand, people who are already veterans with the software and perhaps have their own security measures in place are a little worried about having their business processes disrupted.
This is the case with the Raspberry Pi OS, which forces the underlying operating system to always ask for the sudo password when performing a superuser action. While the practice isn’t exactly controversial, some people aren’t happy to hear that they have to jump through an extra hoop to fulfill their high command.
Raspberry Pi OS now requires a password for sudo commands
This should only affect new installations
as announced in Raspberry Pi blogThe foundation has released a new update for the official Raspberry Pi OS. Previously, when you wanted to execute a superuser command (required to make changes to sensitive areas of the OS and called by the ‘sudo’ command), the Raspberry Pi OS would allow you to do so without any additional authentication. But with this update, that’s about to change. As the blog says:
After this release, passwordless sudo is disabled by default. If you use sudo for administrator-level login, you will be prompted for the current user’s password. As soon as you type sudo in the terminal, a password prompt will appear. If you enter the correct password, the command will proceed normally; If you enter an incorrect password, the command will be rejected.
The foundation notes that this only affects new installations. If you enter the password correctly, the Raspberry Pi OS won’t ask you for the sudo password again for the next five minutes, so you won’t be spammed with prompts while running a series of commands.
While some people in the comments section of the blog post support the change, others aren’t so happy. “If you’re going to annoy users, you’ve done it in the best possible way,” says one user, while another says it’s “a very lame change.” Regardless, more protection against unauthorized access and file editing is always welcome.
