HP-UX System Administrator's Guide: Security Management HP-UX 11i v3 (B3921-90020, September 2010)

to compromise when used, stored, or known, passwords must be kept secret at all
times.
Also see Chapter 2 for password information.
Security Administrator's Responsibilities
The security administrator and every user on the system must share responsibility for
password security. The security administrator performs the following security tasks:
• Generates temporary passwords for new users. This password must be used for
first login. When this number has been verified, the new user is prompted for a
new password.
• Maintains proper permissions on all system files, including the standard password
file, /etc/passwd, and the trusted database files, /tcb/files/auth/*.
• Establishes password aging.
• Manages password reuse.
• Deletes or nullifies expired passwords, user IDs, and passwords of users no longer
eligible to access the system.
User's Responsibilities
Every user must observe the following rules:
• Remember the password and keep it secret at all times.
• Change the initial password immediately; thereafter, change the password
regularly.
• Report any changes in status and any suspected security violations.
• Make sure no one is watching when you enter the password.
• Choose a different password for each machine on which you have an account.
A.3.1 Password Files
A trusted system maintains multiple password files: the /etc/passwd file and the
files in the protected password database /tcb/files/auth/ (see “The /tcb/files/auth/
Database”). Each user has an entry in two files, and login looks at both entries to
authenticate login requests.
All passwords are encrypted immediately after entry and stored in
/tcb/files/auth/user-char/user-name, the user's protected password database
file. Only the encrypted password is used in comparisons.
Do not permit any empty (null) password fields in either password file. On trusted
systems, the password field in /etc/passwd is ignored. A user with an empty
password will be forced to set a password upon login on a trusted system. However,
even this leaves a potential for a security breach, anyone logging in to this account is
required to set the password.
Do not edit the password files directly. Use HP SMH, useradd, userdel, or usermod
to modify password file entries.
A.3 Managing Trusted Passwords and System Access 187