pam_unix Module Not Allowing Random String Passwords in Ubuntu 18.10












1














I just installed Ubuntuy 18.10 on one of my computers, and am trying to understand why a series of passwords are not working, even though they are completely random character strings.



I started by trying to change the initial password to the following character string: XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy10



I receive the following error and was prevented from using the password:




Try to avoid common words.




As far as I know, this string is not a common word in any language so I started to dig into it deeper to see why this password was not allowed.



The fresh installation is still using the default pam_unix module to validate changed passwords, so I looked in: /etc/pam.d/common-password , and did not see any rules that would make this password invalid.



I then started trying slight variations of the same password to dig a little deeper into why the random password was not allowed. I started to find slightly different variations of the password that were also not valid:




XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



X76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



[.] B76cD_*P789_;Eqy10




It seems as though there is a regular expression set somewhere that is preventing me from using a lot of passwords which should be valid.



This only occurs when attempting to set the password from the change password option in the top right drop down.



enter image description here



Changing the password via the terminal using passwd still allows the password change.



Does anyone have any idea as to what I should check next to be able to determine why these passwords are not valid?










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  • 2




    Just for completeness' sake: by which means are you trying to change the password?
    – tink
    Jan 3 at 8:00










  • top-left dropdown? a gui tool?
    – Christopher
    Jan 3 at 16:24












  • Whatever "the top right drop down" is, is the thing that's at fault. You've demonstrated that because passwd works as expected.
    – roaima
    2 days ago
















1














I just installed Ubuntuy 18.10 on one of my computers, and am trying to understand why a series of passwords are not working, even though they are completely random character strings.



I started by trying to change the initial password to the following character string: XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy10



I receive the following error and was prevented from using the password:




Try to avoid common words.




As far as I know, this string is not a common word in any language so I started to dig into it deeper to see why this password was not allowed.



The fresh installation is still using the default pam_unix module to validate changed passwords, so I looked in: /etc/pam.d/common-password , and did not see any rules that would make this password invalid.



I then started trying slight variations of the same password to dig a little deeper into why the random password was not allowed. I started to find slightly different variations of the password that were also not valid:




XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



X76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



[.] B76cD_*P789_;Eqy10




It seems as though there is a regular expression set somewhere that is preventing me from using a lot of passwords which should be valid.



This only occurs when attempting to set the password from the change password option in the top right drop down.



enter image description here



Changing the password via the terminal using passwd still allows the password change.



Does anyone have any idea as to what I should check next to be able to determine why these passwords are not valid?










share|improve this question









New contributor




McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 2




    Just for completeness' sake: by which means are you trying to change the password?
    – tink
    Jan 3 at 8:00










  • top-left dropdown? a gui tool?
    – Christopher
    Jan 3 at 16:24












  • Whatever "the top right drop down" is, is the thing that's at fault. You've demonstrated that because passwd works as expected.
    – roaima
    2 days ago














1












1








1







I just installed Ubuntuy 18.10 on one of my computers, and am trying to understand why a series of passwords are not working, even though they are completely random character strings.



I started by trying to change the initial password to the following character string: XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy10



I receive the following error and was prevented from using the password:




Try to avoid common words.




As far as I know, this string is not a common word in any language so I started to dig into it deeper to see why this password was not allowed.



The fresh installation is still using the default pam_unix module to validate changed passwords, so I looked in: /etc/pam.d/common-password , and did not see any rules that would make this password invalid.



I then started trying slight variations of the same password to dig a little deeper into why the random password was not allowed. I started to find slightly different variations of the password that were also not valid:




XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



X76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



[.] B76cD_*P789_;Eqy10




It seems as though there is a regular expression set somewhere that is preventing me from using a lot of passwords which should be valid.



This only occurs when attempting to set the password from the change password option in the top right drop down.



enter image description here



Changing the password via the terminal using passwd still allows the password change.



Does anyone have any idea as to what I should check next to be able to determine why these passwords are not valid?










share|improve this question









New contributor




McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











I just installed Ubuntuy 18.10 on one of my computers, and am trying to understand why a series of passwords are not working, even though they are completely random character strings.



I started by trying to change the initial password to the following character string: XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy10



I receive the following error and was prevented from using the password:




Try to avoid common words.




As far as I know, this string is not a common word in any language so I started to dig into it deeper to see why this password was not allowed.



The fresh installation is still using the default pam_unix module to validate changed passwords, so I looked in: /etc/pam.d/common-password , and did not see any rules that would make this password invalid.



I then started trying slight variations of the same password to dig a little deeper into why the random password was not allowed. I started to find slightly different variations of the password that were also not valid:




XB76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



X76cD_*P789_;Eqy12



[.] B76cD_*P789_;Eqy10




It seems as though there is a regular expression set somewhere that is preventing me from using a lot of passwords which should be valid.



This only occurs when attempting to set the password from the change password option in the top right drop down.



enter image description here



Changing the password via the terminal using passwd still allows the password change.



Does anyone have any idea as to what I should check next to be able to determine why these passwords are not valid?







linux password pam






share|improve this question









New contributor




McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 2 days ago





















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McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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asked Jan 3 at 7:25









McWayWeb

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1094




New contributor




McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






McWayWeb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 2




    Just for completeness' sake: by which means are you trying to change the password?
    – tink
    Jan 3 at 8:00










  • top-left dropdown? a gui tool?
    – Christopher
    Jan 3 at 16:24












  • Whatever "the top right drop down" is, is the thing that's at fault. You've demonstrated that because passwd works as expected.
    – roaima
    2 days ago














  • 2




    Just for completeness' sake: by which means are you trying to change the password?
    – tink
    Jan 3 at 8:00










  • top-left dropdown? a gui tool?
    – Christopher
    Jan 3 at 16:24












  • Whatever "the top right drop down" is, is the thing that's at fault. You've demonstrated that because passwd works as expected.
    – roaima
    2 days ago








2




2




Just for completeness' sake: by which means are you trying to change the password?
– tink
Jan 3 at 8:00




Just for completeness' sake: by which means are you trying to change the password?
– tink
Jan 3 at 8:00












top-left dropdown? a gui tool?
– Christopher
Jan 3 at 16:24






top-left dropdown? a gui tool?
– Christopher
Jan 3 at 16:24














Whatever "the top right drop down" is, is the thing that's at fault. You've demonstrated that because passwd works as expected.
– roaima
2 days ago




Whatever "the top right drop down" is, is the thing that's at fault. You've demonstrated that because passwd works as expected.
– roaima
2 days ago










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