Questions related to Linux 'passwd' command.
Questions tagged [passwd]
129 questions
56
votes
10 answers
user does not exist in /etc/passwd when trying to change the default shell
I want to change my default shell from tcsh to bash. So I tried and this is what happened:
>sudo chsh userid
Changing the login shell for userid
Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default
Login Shell [/xhbin/tcsh]: /bin/bash
chsh:…
rmp251
- 1,181
54
votes
2 answers
Why does passwd command show "UNIX password"?
I am completely new to Linux. While I was watching a tutorial video about Ubuntu, I came across the command passwd. When I tested, it shows;
(current) UNIX password:
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
Why does it say UNIX…
Nuwan Thisara
- 2,522
28
votes
3 answers
what is difference between /etc/shadow and /etc/passwd
Both files /etc/shadow and /etc/passwd seem to be the same, they just report some information about accounts. What is the difference between them?
Mohammad Reza Rezwani
- 10,706
17
votes
2 answers
How to check which package created a user?
It is suspected that some packages have scripts run at install time which create user accounts in /etc/passwd. How can I check which package created a specific user?
Cyker
- 343
13
votes
3 answers
How to interrupt the passwd command?
When I type passwd, I get
Changing password for .
(current) UNIX password:
Now suppose at this point I change my mind and I decide to stay with my old password. What should I do?
Ctrl + C doesn't work. The only way I found is to use a second…
azimut
- 999
13
votes
3 answers
How can I find the password to www-data group to so I can change directory access rights?
I am running Ubuntu on a Oracle Vbox in Windows 7 to develop a website. I have a set of directories that have owner read/write permissions but the group www-data does not have rights on the directories.
I tried the command sudo chmod 640…
Ashlar
- 965
13
votes
1 answer
Alternative to passwd --stdin in Ubuntu
I'm attempting to migrate an OpenVPN server from a CentOS box to an Ubuntu 18.04 one.
There is a script which creates new VPN users. Part of this is that it generates a new password for the user and then passes this in as the Linux password for the…
shaneoh
- 347
10
votes
1 answer
Why sudo passwd username keeps asking for the current password
I am in a bizarre situation, that I can't reset user's password on my machine (Ubuntu 16.04) using eighter sudo passwd username or passwd username from the root account.
root@adam-minipc:~ # passwd mikolaj
Current password:
New password:
New…
Adam Ryczkowski
- 4,453
9
votes
2 answers
Why can I start a root shell with sudo even with a '! ' in its shadow entry?
$cat /etc/passwd |grep -i root
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
$sudo cat /etc/shadow |grep -i root
root:!:17179:0:99999:7:::
In the second field of shadow file, ! means root user cannot login but why can I login to root user by sudo su?
Why can't…
Sinoosh
- 2,101
8
votes
4 answers
Why does `sudo passwd root` reset my root password? Is this a security risk?
Both in my ubuntu desktop host and virtual machine. I have't login as root for about a month, during which I upgraded the kernel. I found my root password doesn't work anymore. However, by using sudo passwd root, I can easily reset the root…
Harry
- 91
- 1
- 1
- 7
7
votes
5 answers
Rename /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow for security reasons
I have a server.
My server is secure, but let's imagine a good hacker that enter in.
He can now look into /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow.
I would like to rename that files /etc/passwd to something like /etc/xxanoda.
I thought I can do a link, but for…
Marco Caggiano
- 179
5
votes
1 answer
usermod: cannot lock /etc/passwd
I get this massage:
usermod: Permission denied.
usermod: cannot lock /etc/passwd; try again later
after trying to add myself to audio group by:
usermod -a -G audio USERNAME.
I would be grateful for any help.
ijonfryderyk
- 137
5
votes
1 answer
Why does `passwd -l` (--lock) also prevent ssh key-based login?
I locked a users password with passwd --lock [userName], the man page and this answers tells me, that a locked password doesn't prevent other means of logins (e.g.: ssh key-based).
Quote from man passwd
-l, --lock
Lock the password of…
weemonger
- 403
5
votes
1 answer
Is it possible for users not to be in passwd?
So I have a shell on a remote server.
[alexandros.dimos@fep-62-1 ~]$ whoami
alexandros.dimos
[alexandros.dimos@fep-62-1 ~]$ cat /etc/passwd
this too long the point is my user is not there
[alexandros.dimos@fep-62-1 ~]$ uname -a
…
Redridge
- 63
5
votes
1 answer
How to clear password history in Linux?
How do I clean the history of previous used passwords? The history which is used by passwd or whatever else?
I see:
t-account@dbg-host: ~ $ passwd
Changing password for t-account.
Current password:
New password:
Retype new password:
Password has…
Asc
- 103