mailto(samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au) manpage(smbpasswd)(8)(23 Oct 1998)(Samba)(SAMBA) label(NAME) manpagename(smbpasswd)(change a users SMB password) label(SYNOPSIS) manpagesynopsis() bf(smbpasswd) [-a] [-d] [-e] [-D debug level] [-n] [-r remote_machine] [-R name resolve order] [-m] [-j DOMAIN] [-U username] [-h] [-s] username label(DESCRIPTION) manpagedescription() This program is part of the bf(Samba) suite. The bf(smbpasswd) program has several different functions, depending on whether it is run by the em(root) user or not. When run as a normal user it allows the user to change the password used for their SMB sessions on any machines that store SMB passwords. By default (when run with no arguments) it will attempt to change the current users SMB password on the local machine. This is similar to the way the bf(passwd (1)) program works. Note that in order for this to succeed the url(bf(smbd))(smbd.8.html) daemon must be running on the local machine. On a UNIX machine the encrypted SMB passwords are usually stored in the url(bf(smbpasswd (5)))(smbpasswd.5.html) file. When run by an ordinary user with no options. bf(smbpasswd) will prompt them for their old smb password and then ask them for their new password twice, to ensure that the new password was typed correctly. No passwords will be echoed on the screen whilst being typed. If you have a blank smb password (specified by the string "NO PASSWORD" in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file) then just press the key when asked for your old password. bf(smbpasswd) also can be used by a normal user to change their SMB password on remote machines, such as Windows NT Primary Domain Controllers. See the link(bf(-r))(minusr) and link(bf(-U))(minusU) options below. When run by root, bf(smbpasswd) allows new users to be added and deleted in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file, as well as changes to the attributes of the user in this file to be made. When run by root, bf(smbpasswd) accesses the local url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file directly, thus enabling changes to be made even if url(bf(smbd))(smbd.8.html) is not running. label(OPTIONS) manpageoptions() startdit() dit(bf(-a)) This option specifies that the username following should be added to the local url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file, with the new password typed (type for the old password). This option is ignored if the username following already exists in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file and it is treated like a regular change password command. Note that the user to be added .B must already exist in the system password file (usually /etc/passwd) else the request to add the user will fail. This option is only available when running bf(smbpasswd) as root. label(minusd) dit(bf(-d)) This option specifies that the username following should be em(disabled) in the local url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file. This is done by writing a em('D') flag into the account control space in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file. Once this is done all attempts to authenticate via SMB using this username will fail. If the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file is in the 'old' format (pre-Samba 2.0 format) there is no space in the users password entry to write this information and so the user is disabled by writing 'X' characters into the password space in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file. See url(bf(smbpasswd (5)))(smbpasswd.5.html) for details on the 'old' and new password file formats. This option is only available when running bf(smbpasswd) as root. dit(bf(-e)) This option specifies that the username following should be em(enabled) in the local url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file, if the account was previously disabled. If the account was not disabled this option has no effect. Once the account is enabled then the user will be able to authenticate via SMB once again. If the smbpasswd file is in the 'old' format then bf(smbpasswd) will prompt for a new password for this user, otherwise the account will be enabled by removing the em('D') flag from account control space in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file. See url(bf(smbpasswd (5)))(smbpasswd.5.html) for details on the 'old' and new password file formats. This option is only available when running bf(smbpasswd) as root. label(minusD) dit(bf(-D debuglevel)) debuglevel is an integer from 0 to 10. The default value if this parameter is not specified is zero. The higher this value, the more detail will be logged to the log files about the activities of smbpasswd. At level 0, only critical errors and serious warnings will be logged. Levels above 1 will generate considerable amounts of log data, and should only be used when investigating a problem. Levels above 3 are designed for use only by developers and generate HUGE amounts of log data, most of which is extremely cryptic. dit(bf(-n)) This option specifies that the username following should have their password set to null (i.e. a blank password) in the local url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file. This is done by writing the string "NO PASSWORD" as the first part of the first password stored in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file. Note that to allow users to logon to a Samba server once the password has been set to "NO PASSWORD" in the url(bf(smbpasswd))(smbpasswd.5.html) file the administrator must set the following parameter in the [global] section of the url(bf(smb.conf))(smb.conf.5.html) file : url(null passwords = true)(smb.conf.5.html#null passwords) This option is only available when running bf(smbpasswd) as root. dit(bf(-r remote machine name)) This option allows a user to specify what machine they wish to change their password on. Without this parameter bf(smbpasswd) defaults to the local host. The em("remote machine name") is the NetBIOS name of the SMB/CIFS server to contact to attempt the password change. This name is resolved into an IP address using the standard name resolution mechanism in all programs of the url(bf(Samba))(samba.7.html) suite. See the link(bf(-R name resolve order))(nameresolveorder) parameter for details on changing this resolving mechanism. The username whose password is changed is that of the current UNIX logged on user. See the link(bf(-U username))(minusU) parameter for details on changing the password for a different username. Note that if changing a Windows NT Domain password the remote machine specified must be the Primary Domain Controller for the domain (Backup Domain Controllers only have a read-only copy of the user account database and will not allow the password change). label(nameresolveorder) dit(bf(-R name resolve order)) This option allows the user of smbclient to determine what name resolution services to use when looking up the NetBIOS name of the host being connected to. The options are :"lmhosts", "host", "wins" and "bcast". They cause names to be resolved as follows : startit() it() bf(lmhosts) : Lookup an IP address in the Samba lmhosts file. it() bf(host) : Do a standard host name to IP address resolution, using the system /etc/hosts, NIS, or DNS lookups. This method of name resolution is operating system depended for instance on IRIX or Solaris this may be controlled by the em(/etc/nsswitch.conf) file). it() bf(wins) : Query a name with the IP address listed in the url(bf(wins server))(smb.conf.5.html#wins server) parameter in the smb.conf file. If no WINS server has been specified this method will be ignored. it() bf(bcast) : Do a broadcast on each of the known local interfaces listed in the url(bf(interfaces))(smb.conf.5.html#interfaces) parameter in the smb.conf file. This is the least reliable of the name resolution methods as it depends on the target host being on a locally connected subnet. endit() If this parameter is not set then the name resolver order defined in the url(bf(smb.conf))(smb.conf.5.html) file parameter url((bf(name resolve order))(smb.conf.5.html#name resolve order) will be used. The default order is lmhosts, host, wins, bcast and without this parameter or any entry in the url(bf(smb.conf))(smb.conf.5.html) file the name resolution methods will be attempted in this order. dit(bf(-m)) This option tells bf(smbpasswd) that the account being changed is a em(MACHINE) account. Currently this is used when Samba is being used as an NT Primary Domain Controller. PDC support is not a supported feature in Samba2.0 but will become supported in a later release. If you wish to know more about using Samba as an NT PDC then please subscribe to the mailing list email(samba-ntdom@samba.anu.edu.au). This option is only available when running bf(smbpasswd) as root. dit(bf(-j DOMAIN)) This option is used to add a Samba server into a Windows NT Domain, as a Domain member capable of authenticating user accounts to any Domain Controller in the same way as a Windows NT Server. See the url(bf(security=domain))(smb.conf.5.html#security) option in the url(bf(smb.conf (5)))(smb.conf.5.html) man page. In order to be used in this way, the Administrator for the Windows NT Domain must have used the program em("Server Manager for Domains") to add the url(primary NetBIOS name)(smb.conf.5.html#netbios name) of the Samba server as a member of the Domain. After this has been done, to join the Domain invoke bf(smbpasswd) with this parameter. bf(smbpasswd) will then look up the Primary Domain Controller for the Domain (found in the url(bf(smb.conf))(smb.conf.5.html) file in the parameter url(bf("password server"))(smb.conf.5.html#password server) and change the machine account password used to create the secure Domain communication. This password is then stored by bf(smbpasswd) in a file, read only by root, called tt(..mac) where tt() is the name of the Domain we are joining and tt is the primary NetBIOS name of the machine we are running on. Once this operation has been performed the url(bf(smb.conf))(smb.conf.5.html) file may be updated to set the url(bf(security=domain))(smb.conf.5.html#security) option and all future logins to the Samba server will be authenticated to the Windows NT PDC. Note that even though the authentication is being done to the PDC all users accessing the Samba server must still have a valid UNIX account on that machine. This option is only available when running bf(smbpasswd) as root. label(minusU) dit(bf(-U username)) .RE .I username .RS 3 You may only specify a username to the smbpasswd command if you are running as root. Only root should have the permission to modify other users smb passwords. NOTES .B New for 1.9.18p4. smbpasswd will now allow a user to change their password on a Windows NT server. To use this add the .I \-r .I \ paramter to the smbpasswd command. The machine name is looked up using the "name resolve order" parameter defined in the smb.conf [global] section. Note that when changing a Windows NT password for a domain user, .I \ must be the name of the Primary domain controller. To allow users to change their passwords from "NO PASSWORD" in the smbpasswd file to a valid password the administrator must set the following parameter in the [global] section of the smb.conf : null passwords = true This is .B NOT recommended as a general policy, it is recommended that new users be assigned a default password instead. The .I \-a and .I username options can only be used by a user running as root. .RE .RE .SH INSTALLATION The location of the server and its support files is a matter for individual system administrators. The following are thus suggestions only. It is recommended that the .B smbpasswd program be installed in the /usr/local/samba/bin directory. This should be a directory readable by all, writeable only by root. The program should be executable by all. The program .B must not be setuid root. .SH VERSION This man page is correct for version 1.9.18p4 of the Samba suite. These notes will necessarily lag behind development of the software, so it is possible that your version of the program has extensions or parameter semantics that differ from or are not covered by this man page. Please notify these to the address below for rectification. .SH SEE ALSO .BR smbd (8), .BR smb.conf (5) .SH .B BUGS .RE The .B smbpasswd command is only useful if .I Samba has been set up to use encrypted passwords. See the file .I ENCRYPTION.txt in the docs directory for details on how to do this. .SH CREDITS .RE The original Samba software and related utilities were created by Andrew Tridgell (samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au). Andrew is also the Keeper of the Source for this project. smbpasswd and the encrypted password file code was written by Jeremy Allison (samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au). This man page was written by Jeremy Allison. Bug reports to samba-bugs@samba.anu.edu.au. See .BR smb.conf (5) for a full list of contributors and details of how to submit bug reports, comments etc.