Arch Linux

d_fajardo

Member

Registered: 2017-07-28

Posts: 1,689

[Solved] Password prompt is no longer enabled after pam upgrade

I received a message from arch-announce for manual intervention on the new pam 1.3.0-2 update. Here is part of the message verbatim:

`pam 1.3.0-2` no longer ships pam_unix2 module and `pam_unix_*.so`
compatibility symlinks. Before upgrading, review PAM configuration files
in the `/etc/pam.d` directory and replace removed modules with
`pam_unix.so`. Users of pam_unix2 should also reset their passwords
after such change. Defaults provided by `pambase` package do not need
any modifications.

I followed this instruction - deleted all mention of pam_unix.so and upgraded pam to `pam 1.3.0-2`.

I've noticed however that there are certain commands, like doing updates or altering system configuration files, that no longer prompt me for password. I find this disconcerting and quite dangerous. Is this the normal situation now after this pam upgrade or have I messed up something when altering the configuration files?

Last edited by d_fajardo (2018-04-27 16:29:20)

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 25,435

Re: [Solved] Password prompt is no longer enabled after pam upgrade

You misinterpreted the message. You should've replaced every occurence that was not yet pam_unix.so  (e.g. pam_unix2.so, pam_unix_oldsymlink.so) with pam_unix.so (i.e. the end result should be that you only have references to pam_unix.so left) if you removed all mentions of that you pretty much broke pam. Reinstall the pam package, and overwrite all resulting pacnews. (If your install was from 2017 and you never consciously made adjustments to the pam configuration files, the correct course of action would've been to not do anything, as the adjustments mentioned here long predate that timeframe)

Last edited by V1del (2018-04-27 13:31:22)

d_fajardo

Member

Registered: 2017-07-28

Posts: 1,689

Re: [Solved] Password prompt is no longer enabled after pam upgrade

Thanks for clarifying. Problem resolved.

Last edited by d_fajardo (2018-04-27 22:53:01)