SUMMARY: /etc/passwd file copied

From: scott@ncifcrf.gov
Date: Mon Sep 21 1992 - 12:10:35 CDT


>From daemon Fri Sep 18 08:49:41 1992
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 92 08:54:23 EDT
From: gpr@proteon.com (Gary Richardson)
To: scott@ncifcrf.gov
Subject: Re: /etc/passwd file copied around

The problem:

>hello,
>
>I have the most bizarre problem I have ever seen. I have a network
>of SUN workstations running nis and using the sun automounter.
>The master server is a sun 3/480 running 4.0.3 ( yes I will upgrade
>it soon :^)). I have 3 slave servers: a 4/260 running 4.1.1; a 3/280
>running 4.1.1 and a 3/260 running 4.0.3. We have approximately
>7-10 sparcstations with disks and several diskless 3/[56]0s and several
>miscellaneous sun3s. At irregular intervals the /etc/passwd file on
>a client machine will have the contents of the master server's /etc/passwd
>file. Normally the /etc/passwd file will contain a few entries and then
>the +::0:0::: on the last line. This file appears to be an exact duplicate
>of the master server`s /etc/passwd file. The affected machine
>is sometimes a slave server but not always. Sometimes the affected machine is
>an ordinary nis client. So far all the affected machines have been machines
>with disk drives.
>
>
>Any ideas? This is weird.
>BTW, we have been running npassswd for the last 6 months, however this
>problems has only seemed to exist for about 3 months.
>
>Thanks for any help.
>
>Of course I will summarize any help I receive.

The first correct answer is the following, thanks to all those who responded.
 gpr@proteon.com (Gary Richardson)

His message:

->Bingo, you hit it the nail right on the head with this line:

>BTW, we have been running npassswd for the last 6 months,

->You are no doubt running the *normal* version of npasswd, and not
->the YP version. This happened to me. I had the normal version, and
->I thought people were screwing around on my machine, so I changed
->the root passwd. heh, as SOON as I changed the password, I checked
->the /etc/passwd file. I contained the ENTIRE passwd entry for
->everyone (I was using the +user convention).

->Recompile your npassswd to be the YP version and this won't happed
->to you.

Thanks all,



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