What is /etc/shadow file?
Are you preparing for IT certification? With practice questions, study notes, interactive quizzes, tips and technical articles, uCertify PrepKits ensure that you get a solid grasp of core technical concepts to ace your certification exam in first attempt.
What is /etc/shadow file?
Rating:
The /etc/shadow file stores the account information in the following format:
| Username, up to 8 characters. Case-sensitive, usually all lowercase. A direct match to the username in the /etc/passwd file. | |
| Password, 13 character encrypted. A blank entry (eg. ::) indicates a password is not required to log in (usually a bad idea), and a ``*'' entry (eg. :*:) indicates the account has been disabled. | |
| The number of days (since January 1, 1970) since the password was last changed. | |
| The number of days before the password may be changed (0 indicates it may be changed at any time). | |
| The number of days after which the password must be changed (99999 indicates a user can keep his or her password unchanged for many, many years). | |
| The number of days to warn a user of an expiring password (7 for a full week). | |
| The number of days after which the password expires since the account has been disabled. | |
| The number of days (since January 1, 1970) since the account was disabled. | |
| A reserved field for possible future use. |
Rating:
Was this information helpful?
Other articles
- What is IFCONFIG command?
- What is USERMOD command?
- What is role-based access control (RBAC)?
- What is INIT command?
- What is the LPSTAT command?