How to correctly edit the sudoers file in Linux?

To correctly edit the sudoers file, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal and log in as a root user.
2. Execute the following command to open the sudoers file:
3. Edit the sudoers file
4. A text editor will be opened in the terminal, displaying the contents of the sudoers file. Remember to only use the visudo command to edit the sudoers file, as it will check for syntax errors and prevent any changes to the file before saving.
5. Add or modify entries in the sudoers file as necessary. Each entry should be written in the following format:
6. The user named user_name is authorized to run the command on the host named host_name as the runas_user.
7. user_name is the username of the user allowed to run sudo commands, host_name is the hostname where sudo commands can be run (can use ALL to match any host), runas_user is the username of the authorized user, and command is the command the authorized user can run.
8. For example, to allow the user johndoe to run any command as the root user on any host, you can add the following entry:
9. John Doe has full privileges to execute commands as the root user.
10. After making changes to the sudoers file, press Ctrl + X, then press Y to save the file and exit the editor.
11. Ensure that the permissions of the sudoers file are set correctly. Run the following command to modify the permissions of the sudoers file:
12. Set the permissions of /etc/sudoers to 0440.
13. Users should now be able to run their authorized commands using the sudo command.

Please be careful when editing the sudoers file to avoid damaging its syntax structure, as this could render the system unusable. It is advisable to backup the sudoers file before making any changes in case any issues arise.