mcookie

 

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 MCOOKIE(1)          Linux Programmer's Manual          MCOOKIE(1)
 
 
 
NAME
        mcookie - generate magic cookies for xauth
 
SYNOPSIS
        mcookie [-v] [-f filename ]
 
DESCRIPTION
        mcookie  generates a 128-bit random hexadecimal number for
        use with the X authority system.  Typical usage:
               xauth add :0 . `mcookie`
 
        The "random" number generated is actually  the  output  of
        the  MD5  message  digest fed with various piece of random
        information: the current time, the process id, the  parent
        process id, the contents of an input file (if -f is speci­
        fied), and several bytes of information from the first  of
        the  following  devices  which  is  present:  /dev/random,
        /dev/urandom, files in /proc, /dev/audio.
 
 BUGS
        The entropy in the generated  128-bit  is  probably  quite
        small (and, therefore, vulnerable to attack) unless a non-
        pseudorandom number generator is used  (e.g.,  /dev/random
        under Linux).
 
        It  is assumed that none of the devices opened will block.
 
FILES
        /dev/random
        /dev/urandom
        /dev/audio
        /proc/stat
        /proc/loadavg
 
SEE ALSO
        X(1), xauth(1), md5sum(1)
 
 
 
                         25 September 1995              MCOOKIE(1)

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