Changing Mac OS X User Password Programmatically or via Script

Question

I need to be able to change a user's password from a cron task or from an ssh session. Is there an easy way to do that with a bash script? If not, what's the easiest way to do it in Cocoa?

toma · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-21 18:23:32Z

2

Apple introduced CSIdentitySetPassword API in Mac OS 10.5 that allows to change password as follows:

#import <Collaboration/Collaboration.h>

    AuthorizationRef authRef = NULL; // You have to initialize authRef

    CBIdentityAuthority *authority = [CBIdentityAuthority defaultIdentityAuthority];
    CSIdentityRef identity = [CBIdentity identityWithName:user authority:authority].CSIdentity;
    if (CSIdentityGetClass(identity) == kCSIdentityClassUser) {
        CSIdentitySetPassword(identity, (__bridge CFStringRef)newPassword);
        CSIdentityCommit(identity, authRef, NULL);
    }

AuthenticationRef can be initialized like int this response.

answered Jun 21, 2017 at 18:23

toma

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Mehrdad Afshari · Accepted Answer · 2008-12-09 18:11:29Z

1

Use the passwd shell command.

answered Dec 9, 2008 at 18:11

Mehrdad Afshari

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2 Comments

Bill K Over a year ago

Doesn't passwd block redirecting input? If it doesn't, you could do this but you'd have to write all three lines out to a file (original, new, new) and then redirect it, but I thought that wasn't supposed to work (for safety). Could be wrong.

user3850 Over a year ago

beware, passwd(1) does not change the password the the user's keychain!

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