Using Samba, Second Edition

Name

smbpasswd

Synopsis

The smbpasswd program provides the general function of managing encrypted passwords. How it works depends on whether it is run by the superuser or an ordinary user.

For the superuser, smbpasswd can be used to maintain Samba’s smbpasswd file. It can add or delete users, change their passwords, and modify other attributes pertaining to the user that are held in the smbpasswd file.

When run by ordinary users, smbpasswd can be used only to change their encrypted passwords. In this mode of operation, smbpasswd acts as a client to the smbd daemon. The program will fail if smbd is not operating, if the hosts allow or hosts deny parameters in the Samba configuration file do not permit connections from localhost (IP address 127.0.0.1), or if the encrypted passwords option is set to no. It is also possible for smbpasswd to change a user’s password when it is maintained on a remote system, including a Windows NT domain controller.

Command synopsis

When run by the superuser:

smbpasswd [options] [username] [password]

In this case, the username of the user whose smbpasswd entry is to be modified is provided as the second argument.

Otherwise:

smbpasswd [options] [password]

Superuser-only options

-a username

Adds a user to the encrypted password file. The user must already exist in the system password file (/etc/passwd ). If the user already exists in the smbpasswd file, the -a option changes the existing password.

-d username

Disables a user in the encrypted password file. The user’s ...