RPC.YPPASSWDD(8) Maintenance Procedures RPC.YPPASSWDD(8)

NAME

rpc.yppasswdd, yppasswdd - server for modifying NIS password file

SYNOPSIS

/usr/lib/netsvc/yp/rpc.yppasswdd [-D directory]
[-nogecos] [-noshell] [-nopw]
[-m argument1 argument2...]


/usr/lib/netsvc/yp/rpc.yppasswdd
[passwordfile [adjunctfile]]
[-nogecos] [-noshell] [-nopw]
[-m argument1 argument2...]

DESCRIPTION

rpc.yppasswdd is a server that handles password change requests from
yppasswd(1). It changes a password entry in the passwd, shadow, and
security/passwd.adjunct files. The passwd and shadow files provide the
basis for the passwd.byname and passwd.byuid maps. The passwd.adjunct
file provides the basis for the passwd.adjunct.byname and
passwd.adjunct.byuid maps. Entries in the passwd, shadow or
passwd.adjunct files are changed only if the password presented by
yppasswd(1) matches the encrypted password of the entry. All password
files are located in the PWDIR directory.


If the -D option is given, the passwd, shadow, or passwd.adjunct files
are placed under the directory path that is the argument to -D.


If the -noshell, -nogecos or -nopw options are given, these fields cannot
be changed remotely using chfn, chsh, or passwd(1).


If the -m option is given, a make(1S) is performed in /var/yp after any
of the passwd, shadow, or passwd.adjunct files are modified. All
arguments following the flag are passed to make.


The second of the listed syntaxes is provided only for backward
compatibility. If the second syntax is used, the passwordfile is the
full pathname of the password file and adjunctfile is the full pathname
of the optional passwd.adjunct file. If a shadow file is found in the
same directory as passwordfile, the shadowfile is used as described
above. Use of this syntax and the discovery of a shadowfile file
generates diagnostic output. The daemon, however, starts normally.


The first and second syntaxes are mutually exclusive. You cannot specify
the full pathname of the passwd, passwd.adjunct files and use the -D
option at the same time.


The daemon is started automatically on the master server of the passwd
map by ypstart(8), which is invoked at boot time by the
svcs:/network/nis/server:default service.


The server does not insist on the presence of a shadow file unless there
is no -D option present or the directory named with the -D option is
/etc. In addition, a passwd.adjunct file is not necessary. If the -D
option is given, the server attempts to find a passwd.adjunct file in the
security subdirectory of the named directory. For example, in the
presence of -D /var/yp the server checks for a
/var/yp/security/passwd.adjunct file.


If only a passwd file exists, then the encrypted password is expected in
the second field. If both a passwd and a passwd.adjunct file exist, the
encrypted password is expected in the second field of the adjunct file
with ##username in the second field of the passwd file. If all three
files are in use, the encrypted password is expected in the shadow file.
Any deviation causes a password update to fail.


If you remove or add a shadow or passwd.adjunct file after rpc.yppasswdd
has started, you must stop and restart the daemon to enable it to
recognize the change. See ypstart(8) for information on restarting the
daemon.


The rpc.yppasswdd daemon considers a shell that has a name that begins
with 'r' to be a restricted shell. By default, the daemon does not check
whether a shell begins with an 'r'. However, you can tell it to do so by
uncommenting the check_restricted_shell_name=1 line in
/etc/default/yppasswdd. The result will be to restrict a user's ability
to change from his default shell. See yppasswdd(5).


On start up, yppasswdd checks for the existence of a NIS to LDAP (N2L)
configuration file, /var/yp/NISLDAPmapping. If the configuration file is
present, the daemon runs in N2L mode. If the file is not present,
yppasswdd runs in traditional, non-N2L mode.


In N2L mode, changes are written directly to the Directory Information
Tree (DIT). If the changes are written successfully, the NIS map is
updated. The NIS source files, passwd, shadow, and passwd.adjunct, for
example, are not updated. Thus, in N2L mode, the -D option is
meaningless. In N2L mode, yppasswdd propagates changes by calling
yppush(8) instead of ypmake(8). The -m option is thus unused.


During an NIS-to-LDAP transition, the yppasswdd daemon uses the N2L-
specific map, ageing.byname, to read and write password aging
information to the DIT. If you are not using password aging, then the
ageing.byname mapping is ignored.

SEE ALSO

passwd(1), svcs(1), yppasswd(1), make(1S), NISLDAPmapping(5), passwd(5),
shadow(5), ypfiles(5), yppasswdd(5), ypserv(5), attributes(7), smf(7),
inetd(8), svcadm(8), ypmake(8), yppush(8), ypstart(8)

NOTES

If make has not been installed and the -m option is given, the daemon
outputs a warning and proceeds, effectively ignoring the -m flag.


When using the -D option, you should make sure that the PWDIR of the
/var/yp/Makefile is set accordingly.


The second listed syntax is supplied only for backward compatibility and
might be removed in a future release of this daemon.


The Network Information Service (NIS) was formerly known as Sun Yellow
Pages (YP). The functionality of the two remains the same; only the name
has changed. The name Yellow Pages is a registered trademark in the
United Kingdom of British Telecommunications PLC, and cannot be used
without permission.


The NIS server service is managed by the service management facility,
smf(7), under the service identifier:

svcs:/network/nis/server:default


Administrative actions on this service, such as enabling, disabling, or
requesting restart, can be performed using svcadm(8). The service's
status can be queried using the svcs(1) command.


August 24, 2004 RPC.YPPASSWDD(8)