Friends,
I have configured httpd web server to allow each of the system users to have their own web page (using UserDir directive).
At the same time I have configured ftp server to allow the users to upload their html files to the web server.
With above set up my users need not have any knowledge of linux; they can work from any windows PC on the network.
There is no problem in the above.

However, now I need to allow my users to change their passwords. The point here to note is that the users should be able to do this even from windows PC on the network.
One of the way is to configure a telnet server (or sshd). But I find that the windows PC does not have telnet client.
The other idea is that I should put a php script on the server which would take user name and password from the web page and then change the password. I don't know how can the system account password be changed through script - I will have to check this out.

Friends, does anyone have any other idea.


Thanks in advance.

Prabhat soni


Thanks in advance.

It is more usual to allow a user to change their passwd. The usermod command can change every other setting on the user, but not the username. Your script will have to change their username in /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, and /etc/group. You may also have a /etc/group.shadow. You may also want to change their home directories name to match the username. You will also need to add a sanity check to the username. Because these things need to be performed as root, a bad script could give the user root access.

Now sir, I must confess I am a greenhorn :-(
I can't seem to make out what is being said in your reply.

My idea that I could change the password through a php script has come croppers because I realise the "chpasswd" command would have to be given as root.

However, your comments seems intriguing.
Perhaps you would be kind enough to be a little more elaborate. Or better still you could direct me to some writeup.


Thanks.

Prabhat.

Hi,

You can use this cgi program that installs setuid root and thus allows users to change their password through a web interface, as they can do if they're logged into server.
You need to compile using "--disable-smbpasswd" and "--disable-squidpasswd", as you don't need them.

Regards

I misread your original post, or you may have edited it. I thought that you wanted to also change the username as well as the password.

Changing ones own password does not require root access because the passwd program is suid root. Technically, the effective user is root (EUID). The program is carefully written to only allow regular (REAL) users to change their own passwords.