Newbie confused by jail shell browsing...

[mattress]

So my understanding of a jail shell was that it didn't allow browsing above /home/username/. Apparently, that isn't the case. Did I misunderstand something or have I somehow gone wrong?

 

[cPanelDavidG]

So my understanding of a jail shell was that it didn't allow browsing above /home/username/. Apparently, that isn't the case. Did I misunderstand something or have I somehow gone wrong?

It's a common misunderstanding to believe that users cannot browse above their home directory when granted SSH access (including jail shell). Standard Unix file system permissions apply, meaning they can browse directory structures outside their home directory. Whether they can read/write individual files is a different file system permissions issue.

 

[Spiral]

So my understanding of a jail shell was that it didn't allow browsing above /home/username/. Apparently, that isn't the case. Did I misunderstand something or have I somehow gone wrong?

You have two words in your subject that I never like to see together ....

Newbie and shell!

Shell is a sticky proposition to consider even for an extremely advanced expert like myself and that goes a hundred fold for newer administrators.

Jail shell, like any other shell, is not safe and poses some very extreme risks allowing any user jailshell or other shell access.