How to Change a User Password on a Linux Server

While working on a Linux server, you may have the need to change a user’s password. This guide will provide step-by-step instructions for how to change the password of any user, including the root user, using root access or sudo privileges.

#Instructions to Change a User Password on a Linux Server

#Step 1: Log in to Your Server

Access your server using SSH from your terminal.

Use the command below to connect, replacing "your_username" with your actual username, and "your_server_ip" with your server's IP address:

ssh your_username@your_server_ip

#Step 2: Verify Root or Sudo Privileges

Ensure you have root privileges by using the following command:

sudo -i

#Step 3: Change the User Password

1. Run the passwd command to change the password for a specific user. Replace "username" with the target user:
   Command Line

   sudo passwd username
   

2. Enter the new password twice when prompted.

   Output[root@cherryservers-kb ~]# sudo passwd
   Changing password for user root.
   New password:
   Retype new password:
   

#Step 4: Verify Password Change

After successfully updating the password, you should see a confirmation message:

Outputpasswd: password updated successfully

or

Outputpasswd: all authentication tokens updated successfully

Ensure that during this process you used a secure, airtight password that is not possible to guess or brute force. For assistance, you may wish to use pwgen.

#How to Generate Secure Passwords Using pwgen

pwgen is a handy utility to generate strong, random passwords on Linux. Here are some useful options you can use with pwgen to create highly secure passwords:

• Basic password generation. This generates a 16-character password. You can adjust the number 16 to a different length, while 1 specifies how many passwords to generate.:

pwgen 16 1

• Secure passwords (with -s). This forces the password to be more random and secure, ideal for critical accounts.:

pwgen -s 16 1

• Include symbols (with -y). This creates a secure password of 16 characters with symbols included.:

pwgen -sy 16 1

• Avoid ambiguous characters (with -B). This generates passwords that avoids characters that could be mistaken for each other (like O and 0):

pwgen -B 16 1

• Force numeric digits in the password (with -n). This ensures numeric digits are included:

pwgen -n 16 1

in short:

• -s: Stronger, more random passwords.
• -y: Include symbols in the password.
• -B: Avoid ambiguous characters.
• -n: Ensure the password includes numeric digits.

Using these steps and tips will help ensure your server is secured with strong and unique passwords for each user.