Opening RAW sockets in linux without being superuser

Question

I have to write a ping function to run on Linux. The language is C++, so C if fine too.

Searching on the Internet and looking at the source code for the ping

Answer 1

ping needs the cap_net_raw capability to do this without (other) superuser rights, and so does your program. Run

setcap cap_net_raw+ep your_executable_file

as root, and then normal users will be able to use the program.

Answer 2

You can make your program a SUID command, granting it effectively root permissions, without granting them to the executing user. For an example and explanation see here.