PWCK(8) 		  System Management Commands		       PWCK(8)



NAME
       pwck - verify integrity of password files

SYNOPSIS
       pwck [-q] [-s] [passwd shadow]

       pwck [-q] [-r] [passwd shadow]

DESCRIPTION
       The pwck command verifies the integrity of the system authentication
       information. All entries in the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow are checked
       to see that the entry has the proper format and valid data in each
       field. The user is prompted to delete entries that are improperly
       formatted or which have other uncorrectable errors.

       Checks are made to verify that each entry has:

       o   the correct number of fields

       o   a unique user name

       o   a valid user and group identifier

       o   a valid primary group

       o   a valid home directory

       o   a valid login shell

       The checks for correct number of fields and unique user name are fatal.
       If the entry has the wrong number of fields, the user will be prompted
       to delete the entire line. If the user does not answer affirmatively,
       all further checks are bypassed. An entry with a duplicated user name
       is prompted for deletion, but the remaining checks will still be made.
       All other errors are warning and the user is encouraged to run the
       usermod command to correct the error.

       The commands which operate on the /etc/passwd file are not able to
       alter corrupted or duplicated entries.  pwck should be used in those
       circumstances to remove the offending entry.

OPTIONS
       The options which apply to the pwck command are:

       -q
	   Report errors only. The warnings which do not require any action
	   from the user won't be displayed.

       -r
	   Execute the pwck command in read-only mode.

       -s
	   Sort entries in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow by UID.

       By default, pwck operates on the files /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow. The
       user may select alternate files with the passwd and shadow parameters.

FILES
       /etc/group
	   Group account information.

       /etc/passwd
	   User account information.

       /etc/shadow
	   Secure user account information.

SEE ALSO
       group(5), passwd(5), shadow(5), usermod(8).

EXIT VALUES
       The pwck command exits with the following values:

       0
	   success

       1
	   invalid command syntax

       2
	   one or more bad password entries

       3
	   can't open password files

       4
	   can't lock password files

       5
	   can't update password files



System Management Commands	  10/28/2007			       PWCK(8)