Local Passwords
If your network uses local files to authenticate users, the password information is kept in the system's /etc/passwd
and /etc/shadow
files. The user names and other information are kept in the /etc/passwd
file. The encrypted passwords themselves are kept in a separate shadow file, /etc/shadow
. This security measure prevents a user from gaining access to the encrypted passwords. While the /etc/passwd
file is available to anyone who can log in to a system, only the root
account can read the /etc/shadow
file. You can use the passwd
command to change a user's password on a local system.