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My usual password just doesn't fit into its standards, and frankly this install doesn't need to be fort knox. Is there any way to disable them?

edit: this helped me https://www.reddit.com/r/Gentoo/comments/qf67k9/gentoo_very_big_password_requirements/

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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If you change your account's password as root, then the password restrictions are ignored (they become warnings, as root is trusted to know what they're doing). To do so, log in as your normal user and run sudo passwd <yourusername>, for example sudo passwd wtry.

You will be prompted for your existing password (to become root), and then your new password, twice. You will probably receive a warning that the password does not meet the preset restrictions, but they will be ignored.

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    This is so much simpler than other possible solutions, for the OP's use-case. Just force the password to what you want by using sudo.
    – jrw32982
    Commented Aug 2, 2023 at 19:18
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Check /etc/pam.d/passwd and any other files @included by it.

You should find a line that begins with the word password and mentions the PAM Unix-style password storage module: pam_unix.so. The options specified to it control which password hashing algorithm is used and which checks are applied when setting new passwords to /etc/shadow. Your distribution should include a man page for pam_unix.so, although the exact way to view it can vary a little - try man pam_unix, and if it does not work, man pam_unix.so. The obscure and minlen=N options might be the ones causing the system to reject some password candidates.

There may be other PAM modules participating in password quality checking, too: any PAM configuration line that begins with the word password specifies a module that participates in the password setting process. For example, there might be a pam_passwdqc.so or pam_cracklib.so module.

In addition, the legacy file /etc/login.defs might still contain some password-related settings, depending on the distribution.

However: if you choose to use simple passwords, make sure your system does not contain any internet-accessible services that would use them for authentication! Malware developers are clever, and often find non-obvious ways to abuse any services they can gain access to.

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  • +1; An anecdote relevant to the security warning: I used a laptop for {one or two} weeks never connecting to the internet. Google Locations knows the exact GPS and timing after accessing gmail later.
    – Vorac
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 16:02
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In Manjaro (probably arch in general) it would be /etc/security/pwquality.conf

uncomment the enforcing property and set it to 0

or you might just add enforcing = 0 to the end or beginning of the file.

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