Ytdyklly

There are some pages about timeout in locking authority file /root/.xauth but I really don't understand what is the root of the problem.

As I start vnc service, I see:

root@cluster:mahmood# /etc/init.d/vncserver start

Starting VNC server: 1:vahidms xauth:  timeout in locking authority file /root/.xauthVdNayr



New 'cluster.scu:1 (vahidms)' desktop is cluster.scu:1



Starting applications specified in /home/vahidms/.vnc/xstartup

Log file is /home/vahidms/.vnc/cluster.scu:1.log

Although the command is run by root, but it seems that it wants to access /root/.xauthVdNayr on behalf of /home/vahidms (a user).

So, why?

UPDATE 1
Please see the output of the commands as stated in the answer

root@cluster:~# ls -l /etc/init.d/vncserver

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3126 Dec  8  2011 /etc/init.d/vncserver

root@cluster:~# grep -i xauth /etc/init.d/vncserver

root@cluster:~# env | grep XAUTHORITY

root@cluster:~# su - vahidms

vahidms@cluster:~$ env | grep XAUTHORITY

vahidms@cluster:~$ exit

logout

root@cluster:~# lslocks

-bash: lslocks: command not found

UPDATE 2

Please see the related output. I wonder why the lslocks command is not available.

root@cluster:~# yum list | grep util-linux-ng.x86_64

util-linux-ng.x86_64                       2.17.2-12.18.el6            @base

root@cluster:~# find / -name lslocks

root@cluster:~# grep -i xauth /usr/bin/vncserver

$xauth = "xauth";

$xauthorityFile = "$ENV{XAUTHORITY}" || "$ENV{HOME}/.Xauthority";

open (XAUTH, "|xauth -f $xauthorityFile source -");

print XAUTH "add $host:$displayNumber . $cookien";

print XAUTH "add $host/unix:$displayNumber . $cookien";

close XAUTH;

$cmd .= " -auth $xauthorityFile";

    if (-x "/usr/X11R6/bin/xauth") {

        $xauth = "/usr/X11R6/bin/xauth";

        foreach $cmd ("xauth") {

root@cluster:~# grep -i env /etc/init.d/vncserver

root@cluster:~# grep -i env /etc/rc.d/init.d/vncserver

root@cluster:~#  

Any idea?

vncserver is a perl script, so you look inside to see that it runs xauth to add a newly created random MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 value (got from mcookie) for the server it is about to start. By default it tells xauth to use the file ~/.Xauthority, but you seem to have set XAUTHORITY=/root/.xauthVdNayr in your environment, and this takes precedence.

The authority file to use is normally in the home directory of the user that will be creating clients for the server.

You are probably inheriting the XAUTHORITY from xdm or some similar display manager, and it is probably the process that has locked the file. Use command lslocks to list which commands have which files locked.

You can simply unset the XAUTHORITY environment variable so that the default file is used.