Microsoft did it again ... 'sudo'

[mwallner]

So MSFT decided to make it's own version of sudo?

=> https://github.com/microsoft/sudo

is this going to change anything?
for me I currently see no reason to use 'sudo.exe' over 'gsudo.exe' (that said, always using the sudo alias) - especially because I'm mostly using it on Win10 LTSC and Server OSes - which will most likely never be supported by msft's sudo.

[Enivex]

They specifically mention gsudo in their blog post https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/introducing-sudo-for-windows/

I don't see an issue here.

[septsea]

Note that Microsoft's sudo precedes the alias (i.e. sudo) of gsudo.

[septsea]

[septsea]

I have been used to gerardog's sudo; the new sudo does not work very well.

[e-t-l]

I'm curious, why do you say Microsoft's sudo doesn't work well? I'm inclined to agree, at least I like using gerardog's version better (the red hashtag is a nice easy visual reminder of the elevation, for one thing.) But I'm curious if there's something specific you found that doesn't work.

[gerardog]

If you want an updated comparison, check here. However, keep in mind that at the time that comment was posted, ms-sudo had several issues, including problems with input redirection, not returning the exit code, and even poor security reviews.

Most of these issues have been fixed now, but the one major ms-sudo issue that truly scares me is this:

⚠️If you run sudo del *.*, it will elevate to delete files in the current folder—unless the user has new-window set as the default elevation mode. In that case, it will execute del *.* in C:\windows\system32\, potentially destroying your OS.

I think this is not just a bug— it’s a catastrophic failure with far-reaching consequences. I reported it eight months ago... They still shipped Windows 11 24H2 with this issue, which reflects poorly on the project’s governance and priorities.

The worst part is that their failure to address this issue highlights the political dynamics within that project. There is a non-zero probability that it will end up abandoned and crippled, much like runas.exe.

Aside from that, there are countless reasons why gsudo outperforms ms-sudo in every way—from user experience (e.g., no pedantic case-sensitive arguments) to features like PowerShell elevation, PowerShell auto-complete, a credentials cache, and better integration with other shells like Bash, WSL, etc.

[septsea]

@e-t-l,

Hereinafter, gsudo is the sudo equivalent for Windows made by gerardog, and ms-sudo is Microsoft's work.

• I have been on the Canary channel (of Windows Insider Programme) for many years (including the old Dev channel). When ms-sudo was available on my PC, I was excited to enable it. However, I had some problems in enabling it (in the "For developers" page), and I resorted to some tricks.

• ms-sudo did not have sudo !! (or its equivalents).

• ms-sudo did not have the "credentials cache" (or its equivalents).

Because I found that ms-sudo did not work up to my expectation, I disabled it. I did not find the major issues that gerardog just mentioned.