Re: [gentoo-user] Users in passwd/shadow

[Dan Farrell <dan@spore.ath.cx>]

On Mon, 1 Oct 2007 09:47:37 +0200
Bertram Scharpf <lists@bertram-scharpf.de> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> Am Sonntag, 30. Sep 2007, 20:15:06 -0500 schrieb Dan Farrell:
> > On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 04:30:11 +0200
> > Bertram Scharpf <lists@bertram-scharpf.de> wrote:
> > > Now I detect there are users in passwd that don't have a
> > > shadow entry...
> > that makes sense, because some users aren't allowed to log in.  For
> > example: 
> > |  man:x:13:15:man:/usr/share/man:/bin/false
> > the man user can't log in.  the shell is /bin/false.  
> 
> I detected it because there is a warning message in case
> there is _no_ shadow entry. Instantiating an _empty_ shadow
> entry makes it disappear:
> 
>   myhost ~ # su - man
>   su: Authentication service cannot retrieve authentication
>   info.
>   (Ignored)
>   myhost ~ # su - portage
>   su: Authentication service cannot retrieve authentication
>   info.
>   (Ignored)
>   myhost ~ # vi /etc/shadow
>   myhost ~ # grep portage /etc/shadow
>   portage:!:13784:0:99999:7:::
>   myhost ~ # su - portage
>   myhost ~ # echo $?
>   1
>   myhost ~ #                    
> 
> 
> Bertram
> 
> 
You cannot 'su' to that user because they don't have authentication
info.  In other words, a missing password is not the same as an empty
password.  

I wonder if you could run a program as a particular user if they only
had authentication info in shadow?  I am guessing not, since they
wouldn't have an associated uid, group, and so on.  But, if possible,
it would explain the situation.
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