Ansible troubleshooting - user module password_expiry_min bug and workaround

How to reproduce the password_expiry_min bug of the module user, triage, read the GitHub report, and workaround!

November 10, 2021

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#ansible #troubleshooting #missing #sudo #error #fatal #bug

Today we’re going to talk about Ansible troubleshooting, specifically about the user module bug and possible workaround. I’m Luca Berton and welcome to today’s episode of Ansible Pilot

Demo

The best way of talking about Ansible troubleshooting is to jump in a live demo to show you practically the user module bug triage and possible workaround!

error code

userbug_error.yml

---
- name: user module demo
  hosts: all
  become: true
  vars:
    myuser: "example"
  tasks:
    - name: password expiration
      ansible.builtin.user:
        name: "{{ myuser }}"
        password_expire_min: 7
        password_expire_max: 90

error execution

$ ansible-playbook -i demo/inventory troubleshooting/userbug_error.yml.yml
PLAY [user module demo] **********************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ***********************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [password expiration] *******************************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP ***********************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=2    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i demo/inventory user\ expiration/user.yml
PLAY [user module demo] **********************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ***********************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [password expiration] *******************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP ***********************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=2    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $ ssh [email protected]
Last login: Mon Nov  8 17:09:16 2021 from 192.168.43.5
[devops@demo ~]$ sudo su
[root@demo devops]# chage -l example
Last password change     : Nov 08, 2021
Password expires     : Feb 06, 2022
Password inactive     : never
Account expires      : never
Minimum number of days between password change  : 0
Maximum number of days between password change  : 90
Number of days of warning before password expires : 7

We expected a 7 value for Minimum number of days between password change but we obtain 0.

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Troubleshoot

workaround

userbug_workaround.yml

---
- name: user module demo
  hosts: all
  become: true
  vars:
    myuser: "example"
  tasks:
    - name: password min expiration
      ansible.builtin.user:
        name: "{{ myuser }}"
        password_expire_min: 7
- name: password max expiration
      ansible.builtin.user:
        name: "{{ myuser }}"
        password_expire_max: 90

workaround execution

$ ansible-playbook -i demo/inventory troubleshooting/userbug_workaround.yml
PLAY [user module demo] **********************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ***********************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [password min expiration] ***************************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
TASK [password max expiration] ***************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP ***********************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=3    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $ ssh [email protected]
Last login: Wed Nov 10 10:38:59 2021 from 192.168.43.5
[devops@demo ~]$ sudo su
[root@demo devops]# chage -l example
Last password change     : Nov 08, 2021
Password expires     : Feb 06, 2022
Password inactive     : never
Account expires      : never
Minimum number of days between password change  : 7
Maximum number of days between password change  : 90
Number of days of warning before password expires : 7

code with ❤️ in GitHub

Recap

Now you know better how to troubleshoot the Ansible user module bug. Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Medium, and Website, X (formerly Twitter) to not miss the next episode of the Ansible Pilot.