[clug] banning passwords in passwd

[Michael James]

Is there anything I can do to stop Linux passwd command
 EVER putting a password into /etc/passwd?

A lot of my users are authenticated of Active Directory
 and so don't have or need entries in /etc/shadow.
And it makes the shadow file shorter and more readable
 if users without passwords, don't have entries.

But if any of them run  "passwd",  it responds by putting the
 (encrypted) password in the world-readable /etc/passwd file.

There's not much I miss about Solaris,
 but it had the sense to fail a passwd command
 if there was no existing entry in shadow.

Do any of the things-you-see filling the password field
    x  !  N s  -    mean "This user is not allowed a password".

michaelj



-- 
There is no perl one line hack
 that a page of java won't do more elegantly.