passwd: Authentication token manipulation error

[joseph wholey]

RHEL3 AS. I created a handful of userids on the system. When I log into the system as one of those users and issue "passwd" (to change the password), I get the following error.

passwd: Authentication token manipulation error

Any ideas.

[Ivan Ferreira]

Try running system-config-auth and configure the right values.

[joseph wholey]

If you are talking about the /etc/pam.d/system-auth, it has the same values as all of my other working systems. If you are in fact talking about a file called "system-config-auth", it doesn't exist.

[Ivan Ferreira]

It was system-config-authentication, and yes, I want that system-config-authentication set the right values for /etc/pam.d/passwd and related files. Check also /etc/nsswitch.conf.

[joseph wholey]

Ivan, can you be a little more clear on what you are saying... thx.

[Rick Garland]

I see this when there acct's corresponding entry is not in the /etc/shadow file.

This is 1 situation is which this error occurs.

[Ivan Ferreira]

How did you created these users? With useradd? Are you using something like NIS or LDAP?

What I mean is that running system-config-authentication you can configure the pam settings for the files located in /etc/pam.d.

In /etc/nsswitch.conf you should have something like this:

passwd: files nis
shadow: files nis
group: files nis

[joseph wholey]

Not running NIS or LDAP in my environment.

[Vitaly Karasik_1]

Joseph,
So you're able to login with your user account (and not just "su" from root), but cannot change password using "passwd"?

[joseph wholey]

Correct.