shadow file

UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users
1

what does 'x' in the encrypted password field in /etc/shaodw file represent?

2

jmcnamar:x:10607:100:Jim Mcnamara,,222 222-1234.......

The :x: part in this record is the "password" field. This is /etc/passwd
/etc/shadow has the encrypted password and the salt.

3

Shadow file shouldn't have a 'x'.

Each entry in the shadow file has the form (use man -s4 shadow for man page):

       username:password:lastchg:min:max:warn:inactive:expire:flag 

 The fields are defined as follows:

 username    The user's login name \(UID\).

 password    A 13-character encrypted password for the  user,
             a  lock string to indicate that the login is not
             accessible, or no string, which shows that there
             is no password for the login.

lastchg The number of days between January 1, 1970, and
the date that the password was last modified.

 min         The minimum  number  of  days  required  between
             password changes.

 max         The maximum  number  of  days  the  password  is
             valid.

 warn        The number of days before password expires  that
             the user is warned.

 inactive    The number of days  of  inactivity  allowed  for
             that user.

 expire      An absolute date specifying when the  login  may
             no longer be used.

 flag        Reserved for future use, set to zero.  Currently
             not used.

For the /etc/passwd file - see man -s4 passwd
password is an empty field. The encrypted password
for the user is in the corresponding entry
in the /etc/shadow file. pwconv(1M) relies
on a special value of 'x' in the password
field of /etc/passwd. If this value of 'x'
exists in the password field of
/etc/passwd, this indicates that the pass-
word for the user is already in /etc/shadow
and should not be modified.

4

Your help is much appreciated. Could you tell me in which file will you find the settings showing account lockout after XXX invalid attempts.

Also, were do you find password compexity being enabled?

Thanks