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I am trying to port a well tested c++ application between 14.04.1 with 3.19.0 kernel to 16.04LTS server with 4.4.0 kernel I run an executable from a 3rd party that has to run as root in a terminal. I believe that I have boiled the issue down to the call

system( "xterm -T 'Firmware Update' -j -sb -fg black -bg lightgray +132 +hold -fn 9x15bold -geometry 80x30+400+200 -e 'sudo /opt/factory/updateFirmware.sh' -r" );

This works on the old system, the terminal opens and the script runs, printing its progress and results. In the new system, the call returns a failure without even printing the opening log message that the script normally produces. I can run this exact command manually in a terminal window and it works, opening a second terminal and running the script.

It may be that there is some security mechanism that is stopping the terminal. Before I try another hundred things (I've tried sudo/sudoers, popen, and exec; all seem the same), does anyone know -

Is there a security policy or configuration setting that would disallow a system() call to open a terminal, even if the calling program is running as root?

Below are some further test code that I ran, with the resulting log messages produced. The first is a logger command, it prints its message in the logs and returns success. the second is whoami, which just returns success but proves that the commmand can be run by system. (TR_TRACE is a logging module that we use, these are announcing the result of each call.) The first failure is the simple command to open an xterm and run whoami. The last failure is the actual original problematic command.

result = system( "logger -t 'system() call' 'Are we doing effing anything?'" );

TR_TRACE(Usermesg, 0, "Returned from logger call, result=" << result << " WEXITSTATUS( result )=" << WEXITSTATUS( result ));

result = system( "whoami");

TR_TRACE(Usermesg, 0, "Returned from whoami call, result=" << result << " WEXITSTATUS( result )=" << WEXITSTATUS( result ));

result = system( " xterm -j -hold -geometry 80x30+400+200 -e 'whoami'");

TR_TRACE(Usermesg, 0, "Returned from whoami call in terminal, result=" << result << " WEXITSTATUS( result )=" << WEXITSTATUS( result ));

result = system( "sudo xterm -T 'Firmware Update'  -sb -fg black -bg lightgray +132 -hold -fn 9x15bold -geometry 80x30+400+200 -e 'sudo /opt/360/updateMatroxFirmware.sh'" );

TR_TRACE(Usermesg, 0, "Returned from script to update FPGA firmware version, update result=" << result << " WEXITSTATUS( result )=" << WEXITSTATUS( result ));

Logs show

Mar  4 02:06:41 tm6a system() call: Are we doing effing anything?

Mar  4 02:06:41 tm6a TSS: 808 d61ed740 0000 VR@Usermesg: Returned from logger call, result=0 WEXITSTATUS( result )=0

Mar  4 02:06:41 tm6a TSS: 821 d61ed740 0000 VR@Usermesg: Returned from whoami call, result=0 WEXITSTATUS( result )=0

Mar  4 02:06:41 tm6a TSS: 827 d61ed740 0000 VR@Usermesg: Returned from whoami call in terminal, result=256 WEXITSTATUS( result )=1

Mar  4 02:06:41 tm6a TSS: 839 d61ed740 0000 VR@Usermesg: Returned from script to update Matrox card FPGA firmware version, update result=256 WEXITSTATUS( result )=1