UBUNTU: ftp-server cannot change directory when user logs in

Question

I have set up a FTP-server (vsftpd) for only one client user (ftuser). This user should have access to the folder /srv/webroot/user. The folder /srv and all subfolders are owned by me. I am not in the same group like the ftpuser is. Now I have tried to implement the user's permission in the following way:

chmod 770 -R /srv
chmod 777 -R /srv/webroot/user

But when the user tries to login via ftp the FTP-server sais:

500 OOPS: cannot change directory: /srv/webroot/user

Just as a try I gave the user rights on the whole folder strcuture by

chmod 777 -R /srv

Now he not only can login but also has access to the root folder (/) and all other subfolders (i.e. /etc, /home, ...).

How must I set the rights so that my user is able to login and gets only access to /srv/webroot/user?

Solution 1

If you want user to see only it's own files then you have to set "chroot"-related options in vsftpd.conf. Limiting access of ftp users with "chmod" and "chown" is a bad way. User must be able to write in its ftp-root dir to login.

Solution 2

In order to allow a user to change to a specific directory cd, the user should have the x permission (bit 1 in numeric). If you don't want to allow this permission to everyone, you need to allow it for group g+x or user u+x. Of course, you need to set the correct ownership also.

Comments

[heinob]

I thought, that I did exactly what you describe with the commands mentioned above. Didn't I?