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Old 11-17-2012, 03:06 PM   #1
fakie_flip
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Password field of shadow file


What's the difference between * and ! in the password field of the shadow file?
 
Old 11-17-2012, 08:34 PM   #2
catkin
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According to the man 5 shadow page there is no functional difference.
 
Old 11-18-2012, 05:09 AM   #3
acid_kewpie
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I think it is just that those characters can not be in a legitimate password hash, and as such means that no password could ever ever match it.
 
Old 11-19-2012, 12:14 PM   #4
fakie_flip
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Ok, so there's not really a difference unless the ! is followed by a password hash. Then it means the account was locked and can be unlocked to use the same password. I still have ! (or !! on CentOS and Fedora) for accounts that never could be logged in, and weren't locked by an administrator. Thanks for the info.
 
  


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