How to Generate Encrypted Password Hashes with mkpasswd Command

The ‘mkpasswd‘ command is used to generate SHA-512 encrypted password hashes or password-based encryption keys to enhance the security of your Linux distribution.

To install mkpasswd on a Linux system, you can use the package manager specific to your distribution as shown.

$ sudo apt install whois        [On Debian, Ubuntu and Mint]
$ sudo yum install expect       [On RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Rocky/AlmaLinux]
$ sudo emerge -a whois          [On Gentoo Linux]
$ sudo apk add mkpasswd         [On Alpine Linux]
$ sudo pacman -S whois          [On Arch Linux]
$ sudo zypper install whois     [On OpenSUSE]

Now that you’ve installed the “mkpasswd” command, let’s dive into the syntax of this incredible utility.

$ mkpasswd [OPTIONS]... [PASSWORD [SALT]]

Let’s break it down to get a better understanding:

• ListenpunktOptions (also known as “flags”) – They are used to change the conduct/behavior of the command.
• ListenpunktPassword – This indicates the password for which an encrypted hash is to be generated.
• ListenpunktSalt – This is an optional value utilized in the process of encryption to enhance the security of the password hash.

To create a password hash, we require the “Type”, “Password”, and “Salt” parameters. In case any of these parameters are missing:

• ListenpunktType – Omitting the “type” parameter would lead to an error message. By using the “mkpasswd –help” command, you can list the password hash types.
• ListenpunktPassword – If the “password” parameter is missing, the command will prompt the user to enter the password.
• ListenpunktSalt – If the “salt” parameter is omitted, a random one will be selected based on the Linux distribution you are using.

To see the brief introduction along with the options and usage, you can type.

$ mkpasswd --help

The MD5 algorithm (which stands for Message Digest Algorithm 5) is a cryptographic hash function utilized to produce a hash value of 128 bits (16 bytes).

To create a specified password hash with a designated salt, you can employ the '-m' flag for the hash and the '-S' flag to provide the salt.

Let’s execute the stated command to create the MD5 password hash with “UMsalt12” salt, for the password “UbuntuMintPassword”.

$ mkpasswd -m md5 -S UMsalt12 UbuntuMintPassword
 
$1$UMsalt12$LYoVwI/Dt88Rsprd8cLuz0