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ai-sudo (aisudo)

Date: 2026-01-10 Status: Idea Tags: #security #macos #ai-tooling

Problem

When AI assistants (like Clawdbot) need to run commands requiring sudo, there's no good way to approve them remotely. Options are:

  • Give AI full sudo access (dangerous)
  • Be physically present to type password (defeats remote use)
  • Pre-approve specific commands (inflexible)

Solution

A self-hosted sudo approval system with mobile notifications:

  1. PAM module intercepts sudo requests
  2. Local service receives the request, sends push notification
  3. Phone app shows: command, user, context → Approve/Deny
  4. PAM module receives response, allows or blocks

Architecture

┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│ sudo cmd    │────▶│ PAM Module   │────▶│ aisudo      │
│ (terminal)  │     │ (pam_aisudo) │     │ daemon      │
└─────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────┬──────┘
                                                │
                           Push notification    │
                                                ▼
                                         ┌─────────────┐
                                         │ Phone App   │
                                         │ (or Clawd   │
                                         │  iOS node)  │
                                         └─────────────┘

Features

  • Timeout - Auto-deny after X seconds
  • Context - Show which AI/process requested it
  • Logging - Full audit trail
  • Allowlist - Pre-approve safe commands (optional)
  • Integration - Could use Clawdbot iOS/Android node for notifications

Security Considerations

  • Notification channel must be authenticated
  • Replay attack prevention (nonces)
  • Rate limiting on requests
  • Fallback to local password if service down

Existing Tools (none fit)

  • Duo Security - Enterprise, not self-hosted
  • Teleport - Overkill for personal use
  • Custom PAM + webhook - DIY, this is basically that but polished

Implementation Notes

  • macOS uses OpenPAM (BSD-style)
  • PAM config: /etc/pam.d/sudo
  • Could start as CLI tool, add GUI later
  • Rust or Go for the daemon (security-critical)

MVP

  1. PAM module in C (required for PAM)
  2. Simple daemon with HTTP endpoint
  3. Telegram/Signal notification (before dedicated app)
  4. CLI to approve from phone via bot command