Using sudo with Python script

Question

I\'m trying to write a small script to mount a VirtualBox shared folder each time I execute the script. I want to do it with Python, because I\'m trying to learn it for scri

Answer 1

I know it is always preferred not to hardcode the sudo password in the script. However, for some reason, if you have no permission to modify /etc/sudoers or change file owner, Pexpect is a feasible alternative.

Here is a Python function sudo_exec for your reference:

import platform, os, logging
import subprocess, pexpect

log = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def sudo_exec(cmdline, passwd):
    osname = platform.system()
    if osname == 'Linux':
        prompt = r'\[sudo\] password for %s: ' % os.environ['USER']
    elif osname == 'Darwin':
        prompt = 'Password:'
    else:
        assert False, osname

    child = pexpect.spawn(cmdline)
    idx = child.expect([prompt, pexpect.EOF], 3)
    if idx == 0: # if prompted for the sudo password
        log.debug('sudo password was asked.')
        child.sendline(passwd)
        child.expect(pexpect.EOF)
return child.before