www-data
A Linux system account: what it is, and which numbers it holds.
What this account is
In Debian, the identity web servers commonly run under, and therefore the owner of files a running server creates. Debian documents that served content should be owned by something else, so that a compromised server cannot rewrite the site it serves. Alpine ships the group at 82 but no user of this name.
Source: base-passwd 3.6.8 (passwd, group); alpine-baselayout passwd and group, aports. Read 2026-08-08.
Sources
| Distribution | Source package | Package version | Commit | Read from source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | base-passwd | 3.6.8 | a080557e1d59 | 2026-08-07 |
| Alpine Linux | alpine-baselayout | 3.7.2 | a9c597c5cee0 | 2026-08-07 |