---
name: "faxq-helper"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "mgetty-fax"
version: "1.2.1-2"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/faxq-helper"
---

# faxq-helper(8)

privileged helper process to access the fax queue

## NAME

faxq-helper - privileged helper process to access the fax queue

## SYNOPSIS

**faxq-helper \<command\> \[\<options\>\]**

## DESCRIPTION

*faxq-helper* is part of the internal workings of [faxspool(1)](/faxspool/1.md).

Formerly, the /var/spool/fax/outgoing directory was world-writeable, leading to all sort of funny symlink attacks against [faxspool(1)](/faxspool/1.md) and faxrunq(8).

These days, it's owned by the user \`\`uucp'', and only this user can write to it.  To be able to put jobs there, [faxspool(1)](/faxspool/1.md) calls  *faxq-helper* for very clearly defined purposes:

 \- make a new queue directory

 \- put a new fax G3 file into this queue directory

 \- put a JOB file into this queue directory, and activate the fax job

and possibly:

 \- remove a fax job from the queue (to be used by faxrm and in case of errors)

 \- re-queue a job that has been suspended due to repeated failures (faxq -r)

To achieve this, *faxq-helper* is installed set-user-id uucp.  If you remove the suid bit, or chown the fax queue directory to a different user, it will stop working.

## RETURN VALUES

*faxq-helper* has the following exit() values:

- **0**

  everything went fine

- **1**

  invalid JOB ID specified on the command line

- **2**

  some problem with the directory setup of the outgoing queue dir,  /var/spool/fax/outgoing (it will print a detailed error message)

- **3**

  some problems with the user ID setup of the \`\`uucp'' user (it will  print a detailed error message)

- **10**

  failure to process the specified command (it will print a detailed  error message)

## SEE ALSO

[faxspool(1)](/faxspool/1.md), [faxq(1)](/faxq/1.md), [faxrm(1)](/faxrm/1.md), [faxqueue(5)](/faxqueue/5.md)

## AUTHOR

*faxq-helper* is Copyright (C) 2004-2006 by Gert Doering, \<gert@greenie.muc.de\>.