Comment 10 for bug 882255

I tried the work around and received the following

when I had put in the password twice I got
password: authentication token manipulation error
passwd; password unchanged

Regards Mike
On 8 November 2011 07:52, Brian Murray <email address hidden> wrote:
> ** Package changed: accountsservice (Ubuntu) => gnome-control-center
> (Ubuntu)
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/882255
>
> Title:
>  No administrative actions possible (password refused) after enabling
>  passwordless login
>
> Status in “gnome-control-center” package in Ubuntu:
>  Triaged
>
> Bug description:
>  If I choose not to have a password for my operating account, every
>  operation fails if it needs root access. Reproducible even on a newly
>  set up machine. See: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1862543
>
>  Release: 11.10
>
>  Steps to reproduce:
>  1. Install Ubuntu 11.10 as normal. During installation, when you are asked to choose a password, enter one, since the installation can not continue if you do not do so.
>  2. Boot the newly installed system and log in as usual.
>  3. Choose "System Settings" from the launcher on the left and open "User Accounts".
>  4. In the User Accounts window, click on Unlock at the top right of the dialog. Enter your user password when prompted.
>  5. Click on the four dots next to the "Password" label to change your password.
>  6. Select "Log in without a password" from the dropdown box. Close the window.
>  7. Try to perform an action requiring administrative privileges. For example, try running "sudo apt-get update" from a terminal.
>
>  Expected behavior:
>  sudo should require the user's password and accept it, or proceed without requiring any password altogether.
>
>  Actual behavior:
>  sudo requires the user's password and does not accept it (since it is set to an empty string in /etc/shadow).
>
>  Further notes:
>  After disabling the password request at login, the /etc/shadow file related to the test user account I created looked like this:
>  test::15283:0:99999:7:::
>  This shows that the password hash is made completely empty; that conflicts with the policies listed in /etc/sudoers, which require a password to be given in order to
>
>  Workaround:
>  -If you can not perform administrative actions but can still login without a password, open a terminal and type "passwd". This command should prompt you for a new password and change it without any problems.
>  -If you can not login, you can reset your password by booting into recovery mode and changing it there. Follow the instructions at <http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword>.
>
>  You may also choose to use a password for your account and to enable
>  autologin at the same time. This choice will enable you to benefit the
>  advantage of not entering a password at boot time with the security of
>  Ubuntu requiring your password when attempting to perform privileged
>  actions.
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-control-center/+bug/882255/+subscriptions
>

--
Kind Regards

Mike Barber