UNIX / Linux: Send E-mail When sudo Runs

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To send an email when the sudo command is executed on a UNIX/Linux system, you can set up an email notification using the sudoers configuration file.

Here are the steps to do it:

  1. Edit the sudoers configuration file by running the following command:
sudo visudo

This will open the sudoers file in the system’s default text editor.

  1. Scroll down to the bottom of the file and add the following line:
Defaults mail_always

This line tells sudo to send an email every time a user executes a sudo command.

  1. Save and close the sudoers file.
  2. Configure the email settings. You will need to have a working email server and have the mail or mailx package installed on your system. You can configure the email settings by adding the following lines to the sudoers file:
Defaults mailto="user@example.com"
Defaults mailfrom="sudo@example.com"
Defaults mailhub="mail.example.com"

Replace user@example.com with the email address where you want to receive notifications, sudo@example.com with the email address that will appear in the “From” field, and mail.example.com with the hostname or IP address of your email server.

  1. Save and close the sudoers file.

That’s it! Now, every time a user executes a sudo command, an email will be sent to the specified email address. The email will contain information about the command that was executed, as well as the user and host that executed it.

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