crypt(3p) — Linux manual page

CRYPT(3P)               POSIX Programmer's Manual              CRYPT(3P)

PROLOG

       This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The
       Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the
       corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior),
       or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

       crypt — string encoding function (CRYPT)

SYNOPSIS

       #include <unistd.h>

       char *crypt(const char *key, const char *salt);

DESCRIPTION

       The crypt() function is a string encoding function. The algorithm
       is implementation-defined.

       The key argument points to a string to be encoded. The salt
       argument shall be a string of at least two bytes in length not
       including the null character chosen from the set:

           a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
           A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
           0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 . /

       The first two bytes of this string may be used to perturb the
       encoding algorithm.

       The return value of crypt() points to static data that is
       overwritten by each call.

       The crypt() function need not be thread-safe.

RETURN VALUE

       Upon successful completion, crypt() shall return a pointer to the
       encoded string. The first two bytes of the returned value shall
       be those of the salt argument. Otherwise, it shall return a null
       pointer and set errno to indicate the error.

ERRORS

       The crypt() function shall fail if:

       ENOSYS The functionality is not supported on this implementation.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

   Encoding Passwords
       The following example finds a user database entry matching a
       particular user name and changes the current password to a new
       password. The crypt() function generates an encoded version of
       each password. The first call to crypt() produces an encoded
       version of the old password; that encoded password is then
       compared to the password stored in the user database. The second
       call to crypt() encodes the new password before it is stored.

       The putpwent() function, used in the following example, is not
       part of POSIX.1‐2008.

           #include <unistd.h>
           #include <pwd.h>
           #include <string.h>
           #include <stdio.h>
           ...
           int valid_change;
           int pfd;  /* Integer for file descriptor returned by open(). */
           FILE *fpfd;  /* File pointer for use in putpwent(). */
           struct passwd *p;
           char user[100];
           char oldpasswd[100];
           char newpasswd[100];
           char savepasswd[100];
           ...
           valid_change = 0;
           while ((p = getpwent()) != NULL) {
               /* Change entry if found. */
               if (strcmp(p->pw_name, user) == 0) {
                   if (strcmp(p->pw_passwd, crypt(oldpasswd, p->pw_passwd)) == 0) {
                       strcpy(savepasswd, crypt(newpasswd, user));
                       p->pw_passwd = savepasswd;
                       valid_change = 1;
                   }
                   else {
                       fprintf(stderr, "Old password is not valid\n");
                   }
               }
               /* Put passwd entry into ptmp. */
               putpwent(p, fpfd);
           }

APPLICATION USAGE

       The values returned by this function need not be portable among
       XSI-conformant systems.

       Several implementations offer extensions via characters outside
       of the set specified for the salt argument for specifying
       alternative algorithms; while not portable, these extensions may
       offer better security. The use of crypt() for anything other than
       password hashing is not recommended.

RATIONALE

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       encrypt(3p), setkey(3p)

       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, unistd.h(0p)

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic
       form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information
       Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The
       Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright
       (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
       Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.  In the event of any
       discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The
       Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group
       Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be
       obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

       Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page
       are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of
       the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

IEEE/The Open Group               2017                         CRYPT(3P)

Pages that refer to this page: unistd.h(0p), encrypt(3p), setkey(3p)

---