[1402] in SIPB bug reports
xscreensaver
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jonathan I. Kamens)
Wed Oct 31 19:07:41 1990
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 90 19:06:49 -0500
From: "Jonathan I. Kamens" <jik@pit-manager.MIT.EDU>
To: grubbie@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Cc: bug-sipb@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: grubbie@ATHENA.MIT.EDU's message of Wed, 31 Oct 90 16:39:43 EST <9010312139.AA01090@M11-112-3.MIT.EDU>
From: grubbie@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 90 16:39:43 EST
When I change my password, it is accepted immediately (ie, kinit) everywhere
EXCEPT xscreensaver. Even if I bring a new xscreensaver out after changing
my password and kiniting, it still only responds to the old password.
This is not considered a bug with xscreensaver; if anything, it is a
bug with the passwd program, although that, too, is doubtful.
When you log into a workstation, the /bin/login program (or the
xlogin program, if you log in on the X display) puts a passwd entry
for you in the /etc/passwd file if one does not already exist, and
includes in that entry your encrypted password.
However, that password is not used for any off-workstation
authentication -- kerberos is used for that. In fact, the password
could not be there at all and very few programs would be affected
adversely. Xscreensaver, for example, prompts for a password when you
lock the screen if it can't find one in the /etc/passwd file, and you
haven't specified one in your .Xresources or on the command line.
When you use passwd to change your password, it changes your
kerberos password, but does not affect the /etc/passwd file.
The only way I could possibly fix this problem would be for
xscreensaver to use kerberos, and I am not willing to do that, for
various reasons (which I will explain in private E-mail if you want).
--> Jonathan Kamens
Student Information Processing Board (SIPB) member
Project Athena Watchmaker and User Consultant
jik@Athena.MIT.EDU
