Where does xhost store the allowed network addresses?

Question

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 27 '09 at 18:07

xhost simply calls XAddHost etc., which manipulates a list held by the server. See xhost/xhost.c for the client-side and xserver/os/access.c for the server-side.

You really should try to use xauth instead of xhost if possible. It keeps a list of permissible keys which can be used on a per-user, per-client basis instead of relying on just hostname (spoofable in an unfriendly environment).

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 27 '09 at 09:55

5

I think the addresses are stored inside the xserver.

xhost without any arguments should print out the current allowed list.

answered Mar 27 '09 at 09:55

Douglas Leeder

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It does not print out a list of authorized hostnames on my Mac Big Sur, – Fred Zimmerman Apr 10 '21 at 00:40
Yes, it prints the list. But where does it store it? Memory only, no files? – Dan Jacobson Jul 22 '23 at 14:01

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 27 '09 at 09:34

0

$ man xhost | grep -A 2 FILES
FILES
       /etc/X*.hosts

So, I'd take a look in /etc for a file matching that pattern.

The more general lesson here: many commands that use certain files during their operation, will document these files on their manual pages. So, it's a good idea when one wonders something like this, to check the manual. The FILES section is often at the bottom, so a quick "man whatever" followed by ">" (less command to go to the end of the file) will often reveal what you're looking for.

answered Mar 27 '09 at 09:34

unwind

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None of those files exist on my system - but I think xhost would still work. – Douglas Leeder Mar 27 '09 at 09:54
I got the message "non-network local connections being added to access control list" but there is no /etc/X*.hosts. Therefore I conclude the mystery remains. – Dan Jacobson Jul 22 '23 at 13:56

Where does xhost store the allowed network addresses?

3 Answers3