[SOLVED]Login Password Works but cannot authorise software installation

[bill_steamshovel]

Hello,

I just installed Mint 19, Tara, Cinnamon on a 30GB Unisurf Laptop - $200 at Aldi approx 2 years ago. Windows 10 updates are now too big for this small machine. The installation worked well just followed all the prompts, did the system updates after the install and then downloaded and isntalled some minor new software, no prolems.

Day 1 - Could login and then install software no problems at all, everything working fine.
Day 2 - Could login using same password as yesterday but now unable to install software or achieve sudo status using that password. Once I have logged into the machine it no longer recognises my password when I try to install software.
I have checked the keyboard layout and have verified that what I am typing is my password by typing my password into a text file

Anything worth trying before re-installing ?

Thanks

Bill

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bill@bill-USFNWXM14BLK:~$ inxi -Fxzd
System:    Host: bill-USFNWXM14BLK Kernel: 4.15.0-54-generic x86_64
           bits: 64 gcc: 7.4.0
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.8.9 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu3)
           Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine:   Device: laptop System: Visage Telecom Pty product: USFNWXM14BLK serial: N/A
           Mobo: Insyde model: Type2 - Board Product Name v: Type2 - Board Version serial: N/A
           UEFI: INSYDE v: USFx.WT314.NANNGEN02 date: 09/22/2016
CPU:       Quad core Intel Atom x5-Z8300 (-MCP-) 
           arch: Airmont rev.3 cache: 1024 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 11520
           clock speeds: max: 1840 MHz 1: 779 MHz 2: 880 MHz 3: 549 MHz
           4: 511 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Configuration Registers
           bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 )
           drivers: modesetting (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1366x768@59.99hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics (Cherrytrail)
           version: 4.5 Mesa 19.0.2 Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio driver: HdmiLpeAudio
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-54-generic
Network:   Card: Belkin F7D2101 802.11n Surf & Share Wireless Adapter v1000 [Realtek RTL8192SU]
           driver: r8712u usb-ID: 001-006
           IF: wlxec1a59b8f033 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: NA (-)
           ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 model: N/A size: 31.0GB
           Optical: No optical drives detected.
Partition: ID-1: / size: 28G used: 17G (63%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/mmcblk0p2
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 55.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 211 Uptime: 37 min Memory: 1139.4/1900.8MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.201) inxi: 2.3.56

[deck_luck]

When you install Linux Mint it requires you to create the first user account. Did you create ant other user accounts? Please, run the following commands and post the output.

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id -un

passwd -S `id -un`

grep `id -un` /etc/passwd

grep `id -un` /etc/group

sort -n -t : -k3,3 /etc/passwd | tail -6

sudo pwd

[bill_steamshovel]

Hello deck_luck,

Thanks for your help ........... here are the results

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~$ id -un
bill

$ passwd -S `id -un`
bill P 07/16/2019 0 99999 7 -1

$ grep `id -un` /etc/passwd
bill:x:1000:1000:bill,,,:/home/bill:/bin/bash
bill@bill-USFNWXM14BLK:~$ grep `id -un` /etc/group
adm:x:4:syslog,bill
cdrom:x:24:bill
sudo:x:27:bill
dip:x:30:bill
plugdev:x:46:bill
lpadmin:x:115:bill
bill:x:1000:
sambashare:x:127:bill

$ sort -n -t : -k3,3 /etc/passwd | tail -6
pulse:x:117:124:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/usr/sbin/nologin
hplip:x:118:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/var/run/hplip:/bin/false
geoclue:x:119:126::/var/lib/geoclue:/usr/sbin/nologin
cups-pk-helper:x:120:115:user for cups-pk-helper service,,,:/home/cups-pk-helper:/usr/sbin/nologin
bill:x:1000:1000:bill,,,:/home/bill:/bin/bash
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
$ sudo pwd
[sudo] password for bill:         
Sorry, try again.
[sudo] password for bill: 

I entered my login password after sudo pwd and got the usual Sorry, try again

I have tried using both the mechanical keyboard and the virtual keyboard and there is no difference

[deck_luck]

Please post the output from the following commands.

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ls -lR /etc/sudo* 

sudo -s 

pkexec apt update

[bill_steamshovel]

Hello deck_luck,

$ ls -lR /etc/sudo*
-r--r----- 1 root root 755 Jan 18 2018 /etc/sudoers

/etc/sudoers.d:
total 12
-r--r----- 1 root root 20 Feb 7 23:16 0pwfeedback
-r--r----- 1 root root 180 Mar 23 2017 mintupdate
-r--r----- 1 root root 958 Jan 18 2018 README

$ sudo -s
[sudo] password for bill:
Sorry, try again.
[sudo] password for bill:

$ ls -lR /etc/sudo*
-r--r----- 1 root root 755 Jan 18 2018 /etc/sudoers

/etc/sudoers.d:
total 12
-r--r----- 1 root root 20 Feb 7 23:16 0pwfeedback
-r--r----- 1 root root 180 Mar 23 2017 mintupdate
-r--r----- 1 root root 958 Jan 18 2018 README

pkexec apt update
GUI titled “Authenticate” appeared, asking for super user password, after entering the current password I get the message
“Your authentication attempt was unsuccessful. Please try again”
Details
Action: org.freedesktop.policy/kit.exec
Vendor: The PolicyKit Project

[bill_steamshovel]

Can I somehow interrupt the boot sequence and login as root and then be able to see what it thinks my password becomes after I have logged in ?

It accepts what I think my password is when it lets me log in, but then it does not recognise it when it asks me to authorise updates.

So are there two lookup tables containing my userid and password - one for the initial bootup login and another one for after the operating system is up and running

I didn't set up any other users or a root user password when I did the install

Bill

[deck_luck]

Did you install any new packages or updates before you noticed this problem? Did you make any system file changes before this problem?

Try monitoring the /var/log/syslog and /var/log/auth.log when attempting the sudo command.

Please post the output from the following command:

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ls -lR /etc/pam*

Can I somehow interrupt the boot sequence and login as root and then be able to see what it thinks my password becomes after I have logged in ?

They password in the /etc/shadow file is a one way hash. You cannot reverse the hash (assuming a reasonably secure password).You can change your password by booting in to recovery mode and gaining root access. During the boot hit the escape to interrupt the grub process. Select the Advanced options and select the (recovery mode). Once the recovery mode menu appears select the "drop to the root shell prompt" option. At the root bash shell run the passwd your_user_name command to change the password. This procedure will work on the LM 19.X execpt for LMDE variant.

[bill_steamshovel]

Thanks for you help deck_luck,

Day 1: I installed the system, then I ran whatever updates were automatically recommended by the system, then I enabled Timeshift. During this session the system refused my sudo password a couple of times but I thought it was me doing a typo because it accepted it on a third try. Installed Calibre and Shutter, cannot remember if I installed Bitwarden or if it came with the system I will uninstall them all and see if that helps. Ummmmm ............ silly me ....... I cannot uninstall anything ....... password doesnt work.

Day 2 : Installed a couple of desklets and applets ((clock and notes) don't think I needed my password for that, tried to update Firefox and couldnt get my password to work. Will go through all desklets and applets and delete what I may have installed.

If I try to start Timeshift now its asks me for my password and then the password is not recognised.

ls -lR /etc/pam*

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 384 Jan 26 2018 chfn
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 92 Jan 26 2018 chpasswd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 581 Jan 26 2018 chsh
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 56 Jun 8 2018 cinnamon-screensaver
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1208 Jul 16 13:20 common-account
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1286 Jul 16 13:20 common-auth
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1515 Jul 16 13:20 common-password
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1510 Jul 16 13:20 common-session
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1475 Jul 16 13:20 common-session-noninteractive
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 606 Nov 16 2017 cron
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 69 Mar 28 2018 cups
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 884 Mar 22 2018 lightdm
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 551 Mar 22 2018 lightdm-autologin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 727 Mar 22 2018 lightdm-greeter
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4945 Jan 26 2018 login
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 92 Jan 26 2018 newusers
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 520 Apr 5 2018 other
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 92 Jan 26 2018 passwd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 270 Mar 27 2018 polkit-1
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 168 Feb 27 2018 ppp
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 143 Feb 15 2018 runuser
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 138 Feb 15 2018 runuser-l
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 84 Apr 19 2018 samba
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2257 Jan 26 2018 su
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 239 Jan 18 2018 sudo
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 317 Apr 21 2018 systemd-user

Had a few goes at trying to boot up in recovery mode, tried all of the options in the menu presented after interrupting the boot by hitting escape. Could not find recovery mode anywhere, several options were present but no recovery mode.

Bill

[deck_luck]

When you interrupted the grup process you should have seen the "Advanced options " and selected it. It will present another menu with the recovery mode options.

Please post the output from this command.

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sha256sum /etc/pam.conf /etc/pam.d/*

[bill_steamshovel]

~$ sha256sum /etc/pam.conf /etc/pam.d/*
8aa7f3472ec88a24a572d6ffd9748ce3da223fba3b2545098eaaae768b6408c4 /etc/pam.conf
d66a095a330d7e20d0bbb56a4cb28a4b1bfc92e8a5a5e9bfc3d0a51c5e3d7170 /etc/pam.d/chfn
f3f96229e82bf41a7fd3ec12e697b3465235d96bb1e44c39ba91157425a36082 /etc/pam.d/chpasswd
0101e7e589ce40435c5a8709888225400a78ab6be86dfc5fef86ee23ba5338ad /etc/pam.d/chsh
8aedca899ab39d3a806919a44e5e9346c7875d367aed734bd9b625f9dc731cb9 /etc/pam.d/cinnamon-screensaver
aa8a63d72e79399b6c51ebe4e9f828c954145a799eb4b8f3224724f51cbb9fac /etc/pam.d/common-account
6da661cc125058e53dbed757983efddd7f14861e72cdf441240e0aca61c82a11 /etc/pam.d/common-auth
e651e099e3129c20edbcae9cce76a028ea82026524fb97ead8a8c0d5f5a7721c /etc/pam.d/common-password
df90a46980f73decd3c628a2151474f582fc8ea292a2ed183a4bffa4ce0b34b5 /etc/pam.d/common-session
bf9db4518504c69df47b618668e48500be217b945a99bccaa4041acb83481dac /etc/pam.d/common-session-noninteractive
50a7062347b76fe4a429065547f2b53ffe49ac7d896f6b238010a3ee90446a84 /etc/pam.d/cron
95b902bbe2dc733d0cbb3811e23b1b59f3a3172d07d54ce150e7e2b6d69cbc02 /etc/pam.d/cups
3f0acdb014f17f33fbf40618a9b50cbf1d9881d9c7dd88666ccbff57d759d77d /etc/pam.d/lightdm
a7c715e8002ae5c9a9b3fbf02ac8f5abd22c174c44e793bbd18b8efb908fd5e3 /etc/pam.d/lightdm-autologin
8f253af110f775c066ef951b3db1f1968ebe4ca86c9c30c9a540bc6185b6f782 /etc/pam.d/lightdm-greeter
42e1e68613a5e0d2942ceeb8b5a4544341bde732fed47630108a163545359f6d /etc/pam.d/login
26e75ce7c9066801b8db380ff9d8ba58a5e8cf2de5fb38ffd1db5ba62c85acef /etc/pam.d/newusers
d13078e71d3351ef7f63a7265ddb50b710a2598b9febc78810fbb0130a02695a /etc/pam.d/other
87696fad1046d6b33b6d3407bb419980987331b4dcd8905f7a6041bced90c51d /etc/pam.d/passwd
bc30e80027e6cd3d29900f2f8d46f4137c7c5dc06e0dffc34d5ef586476e5bfb /etc/pam.d/polkit-1
2053a7fd0b362c7ee85541d83568057640ae2a44694650fc2207fd2bcd37ad41 /etc/pam.d/ppp
2d430cb6628248953568010427d663f3305856f3cb055955c2239bea226c5280 /etc/pam.d/runuser
be9329a8b26e3cfd4af879fe60900f646f8188f3fbe491688f23d4d8b491c5b1 /etc/pam.d/runuser-l
7ffc62fe1666d69c076b5be6278e52ba66c8a81991d85adc1e5607af2fd71df9 /etc/pam.d/samba
f7cac62fbcd50f9931d09a9190fc3ec390fd48fb5b8bec57e0996a7246856b12 /etc/pam.d/su
f9d37f85df19215956be2e51934cc1e9013ae9d8ea6dcbd7f63bc142088451dc /etc/pam.d/sudo
2d2dd07d6a3faeea3168699a27004d6060d7e77f97880a25f844e468b9001235 /etc/pam.d/systemd-user
bill@bill-USFNWXM14BLK:~$

[bill_steamshovel]

Off to have another look at recovery mode.

Thankyou deck_luck for your assistance and patience.

EDIT .......

The option you mention "Advanced Options" does not exist in any of the menus and sub menus that I could see.

The closest was Administer Secure Boot and the options under that were confusing and didnt mention recovery mode.

So I will avoid that and maybe have a go at another install.

Thanks again for your help and patience.

EDIT AGAIN SOLVED by re installing Mint 19

Bill

[deck_luck]

bill_steamshovel,
I am sorry that I could not help you resolve the problem before you resorted to a Linux Mint re-install.

I am still very curious what caused the situation. Did you run any kind of clean up software like bleachbit before the sudo authentication problem began? Be very careful running any type of clean up software if incorrectly configured it can have unexpected results.

[bill_steamshovel]

deck_luck

Thanks again for your help. My apologies for robbing you of of interesting little puzzle by re-installing.

In between the sudo working and then not working the only things I installed were a couple of applets and desklets - calendar, clock, notes, and a small program called docky.

I had activated timeshift and implemented all of the upgrades and changed my wallpaper.

I don't even know how to do cleaning with things like bleachbit and will heed your warning if I am ever tempted in the future.

The big lesson I have learned here is to make lots of notes as I do installations in order to be able to be 10000% sure of all the things I did/didn't do before any problems occurred. This might make it easier to diagnose what could have caused my problems in this instance, but honestly I believe that I had only done relatively trivial modifications as described above.

I believe the corruption ocurred sometime between installing my last applet/desklet on Day 1 and attempting to use sudo on Day 2 after switching off at night and rebooting the next morning.

Bill

[DavidSdev]

I had a similar problem with a persistent USB.
I could open sesion with my user but couldnt authorise any changes in the system or even change my password.
I realised that I had changed the keyboard layout from English to Spanish and, as my password had some symbols, they were different.
I changed the layout again and it worked.

In the login screen the system used the English keyboard which I used to create the password, but after opening session the layout changed to Spanish.
I don't know if it was your issue but I hope it helps someone.