This command from Unix variants checks the consistency of passwd and shadow files from /etc, which stores the user account information. Hence we can use the pwck command to check for any inconsistencies within these files.
The passwd and shadow files are verified against a set of rules and flags any errors that it finds.
- User with no home directory specified
- User with no valid shell specified
- Users with the same UID.
- Duplicate entries under /etc/passwd
- Non-existent home directories
- Incorrect file ownership or permissions on passwd or shadow files.
| About pwck | To verify integrity of password files |
| Comes From | |
| Configuration Files | NA |
| Path | /usr/sbin/pwck |
Examples:
1. To verify integrity of password files
| # pwck |
2. To report errors only
| # pwck -q |
3. To execute the pwck command in read only mode
| # pwck -r |
4. To sort entries in passwd and shadow file
| # pwck -s |
5. To get the help for pwck
| # pwck –help |
Related Commands: group, grpck, passwd, shadow, usermod
