HowTo: Change Password of Specific User Account In Linux

How do I change passwords for specific user account under Linux operating systems using command line?

You need to use the passwd command to change passwords.

Rules for changing passwords for user accounts

1. A normal user may only change the password for his/her own account
2. The superuser (root user) may change the password for any account or specific account.
3. passwd command also changes the account or associated password validity period.

First, login as the root user. Use sudo -s or su - command to login as root. To change password of specific user account, use the following syntax:

 
passwd userNameHer
 

To change the password for user called vivek, enter:
# passwd vivek
Sample outputs:

Fig.01: passwd command in action

vivek P 05/05/2012 0 99999 7 -1

The status information consists of 7 fields as follows:

1. vivek : Account login name (username)
2. P : This field indicates if the user account has a locked password (L), has no password (NP), or has a usable password (P)
3. 05/05/2012 : Date of the last password change.
4. 0 : Password expiry minimum age
5. 99999 : Password expiry maximum age.
6. 7 : Password expiry warning period.
7. -1 : Inactivity period for the password (see chage command for more information).

To get more info about password aging for a specific user called vivek, enter:
# chage -l vivek

Fig.01: chage command in action

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