rpc.passw(1M)

NAME
     rpc.passwd - server for modifying NIS password file

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/etc/rpc.passwd [[-D directory]|passwordfile] [-nogecos] [-noshell] [-nopw] [-nodir] [-allowdir] [-m arg1 arg2 ...]

DESCRIPTION
     rpc.passwd is a server that handles password change requests from
     yppasswd(1).  It changes a password entry in the passwd file or, if
     present, the shadow file. These files provide the basis for the
     passwd.byname and passwd.byuid maps. Entries in the passwd or shadow
     files are only changed if the password presented by yppasswd(1) matches
     the encrypted password of the entry.

     This server should be run on the host serving as the network information
     service (NIS) master. It is started from the /etc/init.d/network startup
     script if the yp and ypmaster configuration flags are set on (see
     network(1M)).

     For backward compatibility for IRIX versions prior to 6.5.14, if the
     shadow file is used, the shadow.byname map is built along with
     passwd.byname and passwd.byuid. For more information configuration info
     on shadow see man page shadow(4).

     If the -D option is given the passwd or shadow files are located under
     the directory path specified with -D. The default directory for the
     passwd or shadow files is /etc.

     If the -D option is used, the PWDIR variable in
     /etc/config/ypmaster.options, should be set to match directory specified
     on the command line, i.e.

          PWDIR=directory


     Note that if PWDIR is set in /etc/config/ypmaster.options,
     /etc/config/rpc.passwd.options is not used to specify options for
     rpc.passwd.

     If, instead of specifying a directory with -D, the passwordfile is used,
     it should provide the full pathname of the password file. If a shadow
     file is found in the same directory as passwordfile the shadow file is
     used as described above and the actual password changes will be made in
     the shadow file.

     By default, /etc/passwd was used as the NIS passwd file.  If an
     alternative is provided by putting passwordfile on the command line (by
     putting it into /etc/config/rpc.passwd.options), the PWFILE variable in
     /etc/config/ypmaster.options should be set to match passwordfile,
     specified on the command line, i.e
          PWFILE=passwordfile


     Note that the option of specifying alternative file name is provided for
     the backward compatibility with IRIX releases prior to 6.5.14 and may be
     removed in a future release. It is recommended that administrators update
     their rpc.passwd configurations to use the -D option (using the PWDIR
     variable as described above) if an alternate passwd file is being used.

     Note also that with the use of the -D option, the literal filenames
     "passwd" and "shadow" are used in the directory specified with the -D
     option. Because the -D option assumes the use of a directory other than
     /etc there is no need for alternate file names such as "passwd.yp".

     If the -m option is given, ypmake(1M) is performed in /var/yp after the
     passwd or shadow files are modified. Any arguments following the -m flag
     are passed to ypmake.

     If the -noshell, -nogecos, -nodir or -nopw options are given, these
     fields  may  not  be  changed  remotely using ypchpass(1).  Note that
     -nodir is the default behavior because security can be compromised by
     allowing arbitrary directories, use -allowdir to explicitly allow this
     feature. -allowdir, once it has been specified, will override -nodir.

     If a user is allowed to change his or her shell either via yppasswd(1) or
     ypchpass(1) the new shell path is checked against the default list of
     known shells on a NIS master. By default that list includes

          /bin/bsh
          /bin/csh
          /bin/jsh
          /bin/ksh
          /bin/rksh
          /bin/sh
          /sbin/bsh
          /sbin/csh
          /sbin/jsh
          /sbin/ksh
          /sbin/rksh
          /sbin/sh
          /usr/bin/bsh
          /usr/bin/csh
          /usr/bin/jsh
          /usr/bin/ksh
          /usr/bin/rksh
          /usr/bin/sh
          /usr/bin/tcsh

     This list can be changed by creating the file /etc/shells, where each
     line corresponds to one shell path.
FILES
     /etc/passwd
     /etc/shadow
     /etc/shells
     /etc/config/rpc.passwd.options
     /etc/config/ypmaster.options

SEE ALSO
     network(1M), ypmake(1M), yppasswd(1), ypchpass(1), passwd(4), shadow(4),
     shells(4), ypfiles(4).

CAVEAT
     This server will eventually be replaced with a more general service for
     modifying any NIS map.