Linux Users – Understanding Users in the /etc/passwd File

etcpasswdlinuxpasswdusers

The /etc/passwd is supposed to have a line for every user on the system. Amongst the common username and root there is a bunch of other users. Some examples:

timidity:x:114:127:TiMidity++ MIDI sequencer service:/etc/timidity:/bin/false
liquidsoap:x:115:128::/usr/share/liquidsoap:/bin/false
statd:x:116:65534::/var/lib/nfs:/bin/false
gdm:x:117:131:Gnome Display Manager:/var/lib/gdm:/bin/false
mysql:x:118:133:MySQL Server,,,:/nonexistent:/bin/false
  1. What's the purpose with all these users?
  2. How can I login as mysql or gdm? What will the password be?

Best Answer

They're what you call "service accounts" and they're used for separation of privileges (so mysql can't read files it doesn't own, for example).

They can't be logged into interactively because of the /bin/false entry. Instead, they are just used for access to the appropriate files.

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