Andrew Brown <atatat@atatdot.net> wrote:

> >> 20 characters is for md5 based passwords.  you're using current, so a
> >> quick look at passwd.conf (sorry, there's no example in the tree)
> >> should give you an idea of this.
> >
> >We could use an example, by the way, if you care to contribute one...
> 
> and i could make one up (and i probably will), but the totality of it,
> and the subtleties and full functionality, would be best maintained by
> someone who wrote the code.  :)

crypt(3) says:

   MD5 encryption:

     For the MD5 encryption scheme, the version number (in this case ``1''),
     salt and the hashed password are separated by the ``$'' character.  A  
     valid password looks like this:

     ``$1$2qGr5PPQ$eT08WBFev3RPLNChixg0H.''.

     The entire password string is passed as setting for interpretation.

Andrew