dovecot - Apr 2007 - /etc/passwd authentication anomalies

I am using the base AIX Unix authentication with NIS.  There is a base 
/etc/password file (though the passwords are in a funny, IBM-peculiar 
file, /etc/security/passed) of just 18 lines...since NIS is in use, the 
last line is the standard for-anything-you-don't-find-here-try NIS 
indicator:
+::0:0:::

When I start up DC, I get these error massages:

Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default): passwd-file
/etc/passwd: User root has invalid UID 0
Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default): passwd-file
/etc/passwd: User kmem has invalid GID 0
Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default): passwd-file
/etc/passwd: User ipsec has invalid GID 0
Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default): passwd-file
/etc/passwd: User + has invalid UID 0

This is a niggle, but is there something I should do differently, or is 
DC just annoyed at what IBM has done with /etc/passwd?


-- 
===Stewart Dean, Unix System Admin, Henderson Computer Resources 
Center of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York  12504  
sdean at bard.edu  voice: 845-758-7475, fax: 845-758-7035

Stewart Dean wrote:
> Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default): 
> passwd-file /etc/passwd: User root has invalid UID 0
> 
> This is a niggle, but is there something I should do differently, or is 
> DC just annoyed at what IBM has done with /etc/passwd?
> 
Check out the "first_valid_uid" and "first_valid_gid"
settings.  These are to
stop people using system accounts for mail (generally held to be a "Bad
Thing").

 From the documentation, the default for first_valid_gid is 1.

--
Curtis Maloney
cmaloney at cardgate.net

On 9.4.2007, at 22.21, Stewart Dean wrote:
> I am using the base AIX Unix authentication with NIS.  There is a  
> base /etc/password file (though the passwords are in a funny, IBM- 
> peculiar file, /etc/security/passed) of just 18 lines...since NIS  
> is in use, the last line is the standard for-anything-you-don't- 
> find-here-try NIS indicator:
> +::0:0:::
>
> When I start up DC, I get these error massages:
>
> Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default):  
> passwd-file /etc/passwd: User root has invalid UID 0
> Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default):  
> passwd-file /etc/passwd: User kmem has invalid GID 0
> Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default):  
> passwd-file /etc/passwd: User ipsec has invalid GID 0
> Apr  9 14:44:59 mercury mail:err|error dovecot: auth(default):  
> passwd-file /etc/passwd: User + has invalid UID 0
So is this intentional that you're using passwd-file instead of  
passwd? passwd-file isn't really meant to be used to read the  
standard /etc/passwd and so it gives these kind of warnings at  
startup. If you're using this as passdb, it'll probably allow user  
"+" to log in with an empty password.


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