Administering user accounts

Allowing accounts without passwords

Two parameters located in /etc/default/passwd control the existence of passwords:

PASSREQ: If set to YES, all users must have a password. Any user without a password is asked for one at the first opportunity permitted by the password expiration set for that user. (That is, users without passwords cannot change their NULL passwords if password aging is enabled for them and the minimum time before a password can be changed has not elapsed.)
MANDPASS: When set to YES, this keyword makes passwords mandatory for all logins (overriding PASSREQ).

Accounts without passwords are a major security risk.

WARNING: Removing the requirement for passwords does not delete existing passwords. The administrator must change each password as described in ``Setting or changing a user password'' using the Remove Password button or the passwd(1) command.