Is there some reason the following doesn't work?
New User Passwords
If passwords within an organization are created centrally by the administrator,
adding new users to the organization means the administrators must configure
the account so the user is asked to create a password when logging in for the
first time.
To configure a user account in this manner, follow these steps:
1. Create the user account using the useradd command. ? At this point the
account is created, but locked.
2. Force immediate password expiration ? To do this. type the following
command: chage -d 0 <username>
This sets the value for the date the password was last changed to the
epoch (January 1, 1970). This value forces immediate password expiration no
matter what password aging policy, if any, is in place.
3. Unlock the account ? There are two common approaches to this. The
administrator can assign an initial password: /usr/sbin/usermod -p "<password>"
In the above command, replace <password> with the initial password.
Or, the administrator can assign a null password: /usr/sbin/usermod -p ""
Caution
While using a null password is convenient for both the user and the
administrator, there is a slight risk that a third party can log in first and
access the system. To minimize this threat, it is recommended that
administrators verify that user is ready to log in when they unlock the
account.
In either case, upon initial log in, the user is prompted for a new
password.
regards,
shane.
