Commands Reference, Volume 4

rmuser Command

Purpose

Removes a user account.

Syntax

rmuser [ -R load_module ] [ -p ] Name

Description

The rmuser command removes the user account identified by the Name parameter. This command removes a user's attributes without removing the user's home directory and files. The user name must already exist as a string of 8 bytes or less. If the -p flag is specified, the rmuser command also removes passwords and other user authentication information from the /etc/security/passwd file.

For users that are created with an alternate Identification and Authentication (I&A) mechanism, the -R flag with the appropriate load module must be used to remove that user. The load modules are defined in the /usr/lib/security/methods.cfg file.

Only the root user or users with UserAdmin authorization can remove administrative users. Administrative users are those users with admin=true set in the /etc/security/user file.

You can use the Users application in Web-based System Manager (wsm) to change user characteristics.

You could also use the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) smit rmuser fast path to run this command.

Flags

-p	Removes user password information from the /etc/security/passwd file.
-R load_module	Specifies the loadable I&A module used to remove the user.

Security

Access Control: This command should grant execute (x) access only to the root user and members of the security group. This command should be installed as a program in the trusted computing base (TCB). The command should be owned by the root user with the setuid (SUID) bit set.

Files Accessed:

Mode	File
rw	/etc/passwd
rw	/etc/security/passwd
rw	/etc/security/user
rw	/etc/security/user.roles
rw	/etc/security/limits
rw	/etc/security/environ
rw	/etc/security/audit/config
rw	/etc/group
rw	/etc/security/group

Auditing Events:

Event	Information
USER_Remove	user

Examples

To remove the user davis account and its attributes from the local system, enter:
```
rmuser davis
```
To remove the user davis account and all its attributes, including passwords and other user authentication information in the /etc/security/passwd file, type:
```
rmuser -p davis
```
To remove the user davis, who was created with the LDAP load module, type:
```
rmuser -R LDAP davis
```

Files

/usr/sbin/rmuser	Contains the rmuser command.
/etc/passwd	Contains the basic attributes of users.
/etc/security/passwd	Contains password information.
/etc/security/limits	Defines resource quotas and limits for each user.
/etc/security/user	Contains the extended attributes of users.
/etc/security/user.roles	Contains the administrative role attributes of users.
/etc/security/environ	Contains environment attributes of users.
/etc/security/audit/config	Contains audit configuration information.
/etc/group	Contains the basic attributes of groups.
/etc/security/group	Contains the extended attributes of groups.

Related Information

The chfn command, chgrpmem command, chsh command, chgroup command, chuser command, lsgroup command, lsuser command, mkgroup command, mkuser command, passwd command, pwdadm command, rmgroup command, setgroups command, setsenv command.

For more information about the identification and authentication of users, discretionary access control, the trusted computing base, and auditing, refer to Standalone System Security in AIX 5L Version 5.2 Security Guide.

For more information about administrative roles, refer to Users, Groups, and Passwords in AIX 5L Version 5.2 Security Guide.

For information on installing the Web-based System Manager, see Chapter 2: Installation and System Requirements in AIX 5L Version 5.2 Web-based System Manager Administration Guide.