Change an Account Password

The school assistant needs to change their password. passwd manages password credentials under the system's authentication policy. For your own account the usual request differs from an administrator selecting another account, so be clear about whose credential you intend to change.

A password is one way to authenticate, not the entire account. SSH keys, service credentials and already-running sessions can have separate lifetimes. We will use a practice account and distinguish a password update from a complete access-revocation plan.

Prepare the example

Use the practice VM and the existing assistant account. The shown command is the authorized administrative form for that target. Password entry is interactive and normally does not echo characters; do not paste an actual password into course notes, source code or a command transcript.

Bash · Linux terminal

sudo passwd school-assistant

Expected behavior; machine-dependent details

Interactive password prompts; never publish the actual password.

sudo passwd school-assistant selects that account's password credential. Follow the prompts to enter and confirm the new value. A lack of visible characters while entering it is expected; it does not mean the terminal failed to receive your typing. Policy can reject a value or require additional checks.

Read the final diagnostic before assuming success. The updated password affects authentication paths that use that credential. It does not automatically remove authorized SSH keys or stop every existing session. If the goal is to revoke access rather than simply update a password, inspect those other mechanisms separately.

The passwd command updates account passwords. Ordinary users can normally change their own password, while administrators can reset passwords for other accounts.

What is passwd?

passwd is a built-in Linux command used to change user passwords. You can use it to update your own password or change the password of another user (if you have sudo privileges).

Scenario 1: Change Your Own Password

If you're logged into your account and want to change your password, just run:

passwd

It will prompt you like this:

Current password:
New password:
Retype new password:

Once you successfully enter and confirm the new password, it will be updated.

‍ Scenario 2: Change Another User's Password (As Admin)

Let’s say you're the admin and you want to change the password for a user named john. Here's what you do:

sudo passwd john

You’ll see a prompt like this:

Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully

Make sure you use a strong password and confirm it correctly.

Expire a Password to Force a Change

You can also expire a user's password so that they're forced to change it on next login:

sudo passwd --expire john

This is useful for setting temporary passwords or onboarding new users.

‍ Common Issues

• If you get a “Permission denied” error, make sure you’re using sudo.
• If password rules are strict, you may need to use a longer or more complex password.

Set passwords and force changes when required

Here’s a quick summary:

• passwd — change your own password
• sudo passwd <username> — change someone else’s password
• sudo passwd --expire <username> — force a user to change password at next login

And that’s it! You’ve learned how to use the passwd command like a Linux pro.

Try it out and see how easy it is to manage user passwords securely!

Your task: Does a password change automatically delete authorized SSH keys?

Use the practice VM and the existing assistant account. The shown command is the authorized administrative form for that target. Password entry is interactive and normally does not echo characters; do not paste an actual password into course notes, source code or a command transcript.

Bash · complete example for this question

sudo passwd school-assistant

Expected behavior; machine-dependent details

Interactive password prompts; never publish the actual password.

Worked answer

No; those authentication credentials are separate.

Changing the password does not automatically delete authorized SSH keys. They are separate credentials with separate configuration. A password update can be successful while another permitted authentication method still works.

Select the intended account, follow the interactive prompts and inspect the result. Keep authentication methods separate in your reasoning. Use a password update for its specific purpose rather than assume it is an account deletion, key removal or session termination operation.