path: root/docs/yodldocs/smbpasswd.8.yo

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 <Enter> 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 <Enter> 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(<Domain>.<Machine>.mac) where
tt(<Domain>) is the name of the Domain we are joining and tt<Machine>
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))

HERE !!!!

.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 \<remote_machine\>
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 \<remote machine\>
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.