LDAPPASSWD(1) General Commands Manual LDAPPASSWD(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

ldappasswd - change the password of an LDAP entry

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

**ldappasswd** \[**-V**\[**V**]] \[**-d debuglevel]** \[**-n**] \[**-v**] \[**-A**] \[**-a oldPasswd]** \[**-t oldpasswdfile]** \[**-S**] \[**-s newPasswd]** \[**-T newpasswdfile]** \[**-x**] \[**-D binddn]** \[**-W**] \[**-w passwd]** \[**-y passwdfile]** \[**-H ldapuri]** \[**-e** \[**!**]***ext***\[**=*extparam***]] \[**-E** \[**!**]***ext***\[**=*extparam***]] \[**-o opt\[=optparam]]** \[**-O security-properties]** \[**-I**] \[**-Q**] \[**-N**] \[**-U authcid]** \[**-R realm]** \[**-X authzid]** \[**-Y mech]** \[**-Z**\[**Z**]] \[*user*]

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

**ldappasswd** is a tool to set the password of an LDAP user. **ldappasswd** uses the LDAPv3 Password Modify (RFC 3062) extended operation.

**ldappasswd** sets the password of associated with the user \[or an optionally specified *user*]. If the new password is not specified on the command line and the user doesn't enable prompting, the server will be asked to generate a password for the user.

**ldappasswd** is neither designed nor intended to be a replacement for [**passwd**(1)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/passwd.1) and should not be installed as such.

# [OPTIONS](#OPTIONS)

[**-V**\[**V**\]](#V)

Print version info. If **-VV** is given, only the version information is printed.

[**-d debuglevel**](#d)

Set the LDAP debugging level to *debuglevel*. **ldappasswd** must be compiled with LDAP\_DEBUG defined for this option to have any effect.

[**-n**](#n)

Do not set password. (Can be useful when used in conjunction with **-v** or **-d**)

[**-v**](#v)

Increase the verbosity of output. Can be specified multiple times.

[**-A**](#A)

Prompt for old password. This is used instead of specifying the password on the command line.

[**-a oldPasswd**](#a)

Set the old password to *oldPasswd*.

[**-t oldPasswdFile**](#t)

Set the old password to the contents of *oldPasswdFile*.

[**-S**](#S)

Prompt for new password. This is used instead of specifying the password on the command line.

[**-s newPasswd**](#s)

Set the new password to *newPasswd*.

[**-T newPasswdFile**](#T)

Set the new password to the contents of *newPasswdFile*.

[**-x**](#x)

Use simple authentication instead of SASL.

[**-D binddn**](#D)

Use the Distinguished Name *binddn* to bind to the LDAP directory. For SASL binds, the server is expected to ignore this value.

[**-W**](#W)

Prompt for bind password. This is used instead of specifying the password on the command line.

[**-w passwd**](#w)

Use *passwd* as the password to bind with.

[**-y passwdfile**](#y)

Use complete contents of *passwdfile* as the password for simple authentication.

[**-H ldapuri**](#H)

Specify URI(s) referring to the ldap server(s); only the protocol/host/port fields are allowed; a list of URI, separated by whitespace or commas is expected.

[**-e** \[**!**\]***ext***\[**=*extparam***\]](#e)

[**-E** \[**!**\]***ext***\[**=*extparam***\]](#E)

Specify general extensions with **-e** and passwd modify extensions with **-E**. ´**!**´ indicates criticality.

General extensions:

```


  [!]assert=<filter>    (an RFC 4515 Filter)


  !authzid=<authzid>    ("dn:<dn>" or "u:<user>")


  [!]bauthzid           (RFC 3829 authzid control)


  [!]chaining[=<resolve>[/<cont>]]


  [!]manageDSAit


  [!]noop


  ppolicy


  [!]postread[=<attrs>] (a comma-separated attribute list)


  [!]preread[=<attrs>]  (a comma-separated attribute list)


  [!]relax


  sessiontracking[=<username>]


  abandon,cancel,ignore (SIGINT sends abandon/cancel,


  or ignores response; if critical, doesn't wait for SIGINT.


  not really controls)
```

Passwd Modify extensions:

```


  (none)
```

[**-o opt\[=optparam\]\]**](#o)

Specify any [**ldap.conf**(5)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap.conf.5) option or one of the following:

```


  nettimeout=<timeout>  (in seconds, or "none" or "max")


  ldif_wrap=<width>     (in columns, or "no" for no wrapping)
```

[**-O security-properties**](#O)

Specify SASL security properties.

[**-I**](#I)

Enable SASL Interactive mode. Always prompt. Default is to prompt only as needed.

[**-Q**](#Q)

Enable SASL Quiet mode. Never prompt.

[**-N**](#N)

Do not use reverse DNS to canonicalize SASL host name.

[**-U authcid**](#U)

Specify the authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of the ID depends on the actual SASL mechanism used.

[**-R realm**](#R)

Specify the realm of authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of the realm depends on the actual SASL mechanism used.

[**-X authzid**](#X)

Specify the requested authorization ID for SASL bind. *authzid* must be one of the following formats: **dn:&lt;distinguished name&gt;** or **u:&lt;username&gt;.**

[**-Y mech**](#Y)

Specify the SASL mechanism to be used for authentication. If it's not specified, the program will choose the best mechanism the server knows.

[**-Z**\[**Z**\]](#Z)

Issue StartTLS (Transport Layer Security) extended operation. If you use **-ZZ**, the command will require the operation to be successful

# [SEE ALSO](#SEE_ALSO)

[**ldap\_sasl\_bind**(3)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap_sasl_bind.3), [**ldap\_extended\_operation**(3)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap_extended_operation.3), [**ldap\_start\_tls\_s**(3)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap_start_tls_s.3)

# [AUTHOR](#AUTHOR)

The OpenLDAP Project &lt;http://www.openldap.org/&gt;

# [ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS](#ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS)

**OpenLDAP Software** is developed and maintained by The OpenLDAP Project &lt;http://www.openldap.org/&gt;. **OpenLDAP Software** is derived from the University of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.

2026/10/21 OpenLDAP 2.6.16

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Document: ldappasswd(1) from openldap-2.6 2.6.16-r0 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://git.openldap.org/openldap/openldap.git