Bug#317012: (forw) Bug#317012: [Pkg-shadow-devel] Processed: Bug#316089: chage fails if plain passwd in use

[Christian Perrier]

> >----- Forwarded message from Alexander Gattin
> ...
> >I propose to use `useradd -O PASS_MAX_DAYS=3D99999`
> >instead and from my side going to update useradd's
> >manpage (see bug #304934).
>=20
> We should consider the following things:
> 1. depending on -O will require versioned "depends:"
> 2. depending on "special" chage exitcode will result in
>    the same
> 3. there are actually 3rd way out:
>    you just should check whether /etc/shadow exists,
>    and if no, chage will surely fail, because pwd ageing
>    information is contained in shadow only, not in=20
> passwd.


Marc Haber explained on IRC that the "-O" option adds a problem to
backport (on the other hand, this -O option actually exists since a
long time).

As, in the same time, changing chage to have a special errorlevel does
not harm a lot and is judged by Marc as more pratical to use for hime,
I hereby decide that we will go that way.

So, what must be done:

-someone has to produce a patch to add a special errorlevel for chage
 when shadow passwords ar enot used

-this patch has to be "ported" for upstream shadow

-it should be proposed upstream

-whatever upstream decides, we will use this patch in Debian, either
 as a Debian-only patch, or as a temporary patch against the old
 upstream version

-we upload a fixed version as soon as possible to give Marc a possible
 solution for his own bug report


The key point, then, becomes=A0: write down the patch. Nicolas or
Alexander, you seem to be the people who actually can do it. Would one
of you try this?