Provided by: libnss-systemd_249.11-0ubuntu3.12_amd64 bug

NAME

       nss-systemd, libnss_systemd.so.2 - UNIX user and group name resolution for user/group
       lookup via Varlink

SYNOPSIS

       libnss_systemd.so.2

DESCRIPTION

       nss-systemd is a plug-in module for the GNU Name Service Switch (NSS) functionality of the
       GNU C Library (glibc), providing UNIX user and group name resolution for services
       implementing the User/Group Record Lookup API via Varlink[1], such as the system and
       service manager systemd(1) (for its DynamicUser= feature, see systemd.exec(5) for
       details), systemd-homed.service(8), or systemd-machined.service(8).

       This module also ensures that the root and nobody users and groups (i.e. the users/groups
       with the UIDs/GIDs 0 and 65534) remain resolvable at all times, even if they aren't listed
       in /etc/passwd or /etc/group, or if these files are missing.

       This module preferably utilizes systemd-userdbd.service(8) for resolving users and groups,
       but also works without the service running.

       To activate the NSS module, add "systemd" to the lines starting with "passwd:", "group:",
       "shadow:" and "gshadow:" in /etc/nsswitch.conf.

       It is recommended to place "systemd" after the "files" or "compat" entry of the
       /etc/nsswitch.conf lines so that /etc/passwd, /etc/group, /etc/shadow and /etc/gshadow
       based mappings take precedence.

STATIC DROP-IN JSON USER/GROUP RECORDS

       Besides user/group records acquired via the aforementioned Varlink IPC interfaces and the
       synthesized root and nobody accounts, this module also makes user and group accounts
       available to the system that are defined in static drop-in files in the /etc/userdb/,
       /run/userdb/, /run/host/userdb/ and /usr/lib/userdb/ directories.

       This is a simple mechanism to provide static user and group records via JSON drop-in
       files. Such user records should be defined in the format described by the JSON User
       Records[2] specification and be placed in one of the aforementioned directories under a
       file name composed of the user name suffixed with .user, with a world-readable access
       mode. A symlink named after the user record's UID formatted in decimal and suffixed with
       .user pointing to the primary record file should be created as well, in order to allow
       both lookups by username and by UID. Privileged user record data (e.g. hashed UNIX
       passwords) may optionally be provided as well, in a pair of separate companion files with
       the .user-privileged suffix. The data should be stored in a regular file named after the
       user name, suffixed with .user-privileged, and a symlink pointing to it, named after the
       used numeric UID formatted in decimal with the same suffix. These companion files should
       not be readable to anyone but root. Example:

           -rw-r--r--. 1 root root  723 May 10 foobar.user
           -rw-------. 1 root root  123 May 10 foobar.user-privileged
           lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root   19 May 10 4711.user -> foobar.user
           lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root   19 May 10 4711.user-privileged -> foobar.user-privileged

       Similarly, group records following the format described in JSON Group Record[3] may be
       defined, using the file suffixes .group and .group-privileged.

       The primary user/group record files (i.e. those with the .user and .group suffixes) should
       not contain the "privileged" section as described in the specifications. The privileged
       user/group record files (i.e. those with the .user-privileged and .group-privileged
       suffixes) should contain this section, exclusively.

       Note that static user/group records generally do not override conflicting records in
       /etc/passwd or /etc/group or other account databases. In fact, before dropping in these
       files a reasonable level of care should be taken to avoid user/group name and UID/GID
       conflicts.

CONFIGURATION IN /ETC/NSSWITCH.CONF

       Here is an example /etc/nsswitch.conf file that enables nss-systemd correctly:

           passwd:         compat systemd
           group:          compat [SUCCESS=merge] systemd
           shadow:         compat systemd
           gshadow:        files systemd

           hosts:          mymachines resolve [!UNAVAIL=return] files myhostname dns
           networks:       files

           protocols:      db files
           services:       db files
           ethers:         db files
           rpc:            db files

           netgroup:       nis

EXAMPLE: MAPPINGS PROVIDED BY SYSTEMD-MACHINED.SERVICE

       The container "rawhide" is spawned using systemd-nspawn(1):

           # systemd-nspawn -M rawhide --boot --network-veth --private-users=pick
           Spawning container rawhide on /var/lib/machines/rawhide.
           Selected user namespace base 20119552 and range 65536.
           ...

           $ machinectl --max-addresses=3
           MACHINE CLASS     SERVICE        OS     VERSION ADDRESSES
           rawhide container systemd-nspawn fedora 30      169.254.40.164 fe80::94aa:3aff:fe7b:d4b9

           $ getent passwd vu-rawhide-0 vu-rawhide-81
           vu-rawhide-0:*:20119552:65534:vu-rawhide-0:/:/usr/sbin/nologin
           vu-rawhide-81:*:20119633:65534:vu-rawhide-81:/:/usr/sbin/nologin

           $ getent group vg-rawhide-0 vg-rawhide-81
           vg-rawhide-0:*:20119552:
           vg-rawhide-81:*:20119633:

           $ ps -o user:15,pid,tty,command -e|grep '^vu-rawhide'
           vu-rawhide-0      692 ?        /lib/systemd/systemd
           vu-rawhide-0      731 ?        /lib/systemd/systemd-journald
           vu-rawhide-192    734 ?        /lib/systemd/systemd-networkd
           vu-rawhide-193    738 ?        /lib/systemd/systemd-resolved
           vu-rawhide-0      742 ?        /lib/systemd/systemd-logind
           vu-rawhide-81     744 ?        /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --system --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile --systemd-activation --syslog-only
           vu-rawhide-0      746 ?        /usr/sbin/sshd -D ...
           vu-rawhide-0      752 ?        /lib/systemd/systemd --user
           vu-rawhide-0      753 ?        (sd-pam)
           vu-rawhide-0     1628 ?        login -- zbyszek
           vu-rawhide-1000  1630 ?        /lib/systemd/systemd --user
           vu-rawhide-1000  1631 ?        (sd-pam)
           vu-rawhide-1000  1637 pts/8    -zsh

SEE ALSO

       systemd(1), systemd.exec(5), nss-resolve(8), nss-myhostname(8), nss-mymachines(8),
       systemd-userdbd.service(8), systemd-homed.service(8), systemd-machined.service(8),
       nsswitch.conf(5), getent(1)

NOTES

        1. User/Group Record Lookup API via Varlink
           https://systemd.io/USER_GROUP_API

        2. JSON User Records
           https://systemd.io/USER_RECORD

        3. JSON Group Record
           https://systemd.io/GROUP_RECORD