How to change/disable password complexity test when changing password?
Ok, I will answer my question :)
I've found that pam_unix
module performs password complexity check and it can be configured.
man pam_unix
:
minlen=n
Set a minimum password length of n characters. The default value is
6. The maximum for DES crypt-based passwords is 8 characters.
obscure
Enable some extra checks on password strength. These checks are
based on the "obscure" checks in the original shadow package. The
behavior is similar to the pam_cracklib module, but for
non-dictionary-based checks.
Solution:
Alter the line in the pam_unix
module in the /etc/pam.d/common-password
file to:
password [success=1 default=ignore] pam_unix.so minlen=1 sha512
It allows you to set any password with minimal length of 1.
If it is a once off, using the passwd command as root you can set a simple password for a user by simply entering the desired value.
sudo su && passwd username
and then enter the password two times at the prompts.
Open the common-password
config file for editing:
sudo -H gedit /etc/pam.d/common-password
Comment this line by adding the #
character to the front as shown:
#password [success=2 default=ignore] pam_unix.so obscure use_authtok try_first_pass sha512
Also comment this line, otherwise password setting will ask you to pass a mix of upper/lower case letters:
#password requisite pam_passwdqc.so enforce=everyone max=18 min=disabled,8,8,1,1 retry=2 similar=deny
Now just add this line into the same file:
password [success=1 default=ignore] pam_unix.so minlen=1 sha512
this should do it...