• Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact
  • Archives
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Advertise

Kernel Talks

Unix, Linux, & Cloud!

  • How-to guides
    • Howto
    • Disk management
    • Configurations
    • Troubleshooting
  • OS
    • HPUX
    • Linux
  • Miscellaneous
    • Software & Tools
    • Cloud Services
    • System services
    • Virtualization
  • Certification Preparations
    • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
    • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
    • AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
    • AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
    • Certified Kubernetes Administrator
    • Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate
    • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations 2020 – Associate
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Linux commands
You are here: Home / Linux

Difference between /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow

Published: September 8, 2017 | Modified: June 20, 2020



Learn about the difference between /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files in the Linux system. 9 points to understand the comparison of these two files.

/etc/passwd vs /etc/shadow

Its one of the Linux beginners interview question explain the difference between /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files or compare passwd and shadow files in Linux. Basically both files serve different purposes on the system so it’s not completely logical to compare them but still if you want to we have this article for you explaining  /etc/passwd vs /etc/shadow.

Before reading ahead, if you are not sure about these files read our articles explaining these files field by field.

  • Understanding /etc/passwd file
  • Understanding /etc/shadow file

Difference between /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow

  1. File formats are the same i.e. fields separated by colons & new row for each user. But the number of fields is different. passwd file has 7 fields whereas the shadow file has 8 fields.
  2. All fields are different except for the first one. It’s the same for both files and is the username.
  3. /etc/passwd file aims at user account details while /etc/shadow aims at the user’s password details.
  4. the passwd file is world-readable. shadow file can only be read by the root account.
  5. The user’s encrypted password can only be stored in /etc/shadow file.
  6. pwconv command is used to generate a shadow file from the passwd file if it doesn’t exist.
  7. passwd file exists by default when the system is installed.
  8. passwd file information is more of a static (home directory, shell, uid, gid which hardly changes)
  9. shadow file information changes frequently since its related to password and user password changes frequently (if not, password policies are loosely defined!)
⇠ Previous article
Understanding /etc/shadow file
Next article ⇢
Linux server build template (document)

Related stuff:

  • All you need to know about hostname in Linux
  • Linux user management (useradd, userdel, usermod)
  • Understanding /etc/fstab file
  • How to upgrade from Oracle Linux 6 to Oracle Linux 7
  • How to remove password expiry in linux
  • SUSE Manager 4 Setup Configuration
  • How to disable IPv6 on Linux
  • Highest size files in mount point
  • Difference between LVM and LVM2: Linux interview question explained
  • LVM commands tutorial : Part 1 : Physical Volume (pvchange, pvmove)
  • How to rename volume group
  • Preparing for Hashicorp Certified Terraform Associate Exam

Filed Under: Linux Tagged With: /etc/passwd vs /etc/shadow, difference between /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow, difference between passwd and shadow files in linux, passwd vs shadow in linux

If you like my tutorials and if they helped you in any way, then

  • Consider buying me a cup of coffee via paypal!
  • Subscribe to our newsletter here!
  • Like KernelTalks Facebook page.
  • Follow us on Twitter.
  • Add our RSS feed to your feed reader.

Share Your Comments & Feedback: Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get fresh content from KernelTalks

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Get Linux & Unix stuff right into your mailbox. Subscribe now!

* indicates required

This work is licensed under a CC-BY-NC license · Privacy Policy
© Copyright 2016-2021 KernelTalks · All Rights Reserved.
The content is copyrighted to Shrikant Lavhate & can not be reproduced either online or offline without prior permission.