HPUX Password Reset

[Corey Gill]

Hi,

Is it possible to set a locked out user account on an HPUX11 trusted system to re-activate automatically after a specified time elapses?

If so, how can this be done and can it be applied to root?

Thank you in advance

[Rick Garland]

Locked accts are often the result of too many unsuccessful login attempts.
To unlock, can use SAM to unlock the accts.

The accts stay locked until they are acted on.

[Victor BERRIDGE]

I dont know if its wyse to have something of the sort, for obvious security reasons, but if you wish, you could write a script that picks up the status of users, make a list of the deactivated, and reactivate them using getprpw and modprpw...since they are not supported cmd I will not give the usage but for reactivation because its so handy:
modprpw -k
About root, I regularly find myself with root account deactivated, solution is to have spare root alias accounts, and allow your user account to shutdown for the case someone tried all and blocked all root access and if I remenber right even deactivated you can still log yourself as root on the console if no one changed the passwd but that need to be confirmed by other gurus since Im not near a console to try...
Regards
victor

[Tom Danzig]

I think:

/usr/lbin/modprpw -k username

will work. You could schedule via root cron to perform at specified intervals. Doesn't sound like good security practice though.

[Tom Danzig]

Victor,

You are correct. You can log in at the console even if locked out. That's one way to reactivate.

[Victor BERRIDGE]

Thanks Tom!

Best of all
Victor

[Tom Danzig]

Correction:

Logging in on the console will reactivate for _root_ _only_. My mistake.

[Victor BERRIDGE]

This is a very smart feature HP has implemented, compared to AIX where you have to go from a CD...