Release 4.19.0

Breaking changes:

-  Remove support for escaped newlines in configuration files.
   It never worked correctly.
   b0a7ce5 (2025-12-05; "lib/, po/: Remove fgetsx() and fputsx()")

-  Some user names and group names are too dangerous and are rejected,
   even with --badname.
   25aea74 (2025-12-25; "lib/chkname.c, src/: Strictly disallow really bad names")

Future breaking changes:

-  SHA512 and SHA256 will be supported unconditionally in the next
   release.  The build-time flag '--with-sha-crypt' will be removed.
   See <shadow-maint#1452>.

Deprecations:

-  groupmems(8)
	The program will be removed in a future release.
	See <shadow-maint#1343>.

-  logoutd(8)
	The program will be removed in the next release.
	See <shadow-maint#999>,
	and <shadow-maint#1344>.

-  DES
	This hashing algorithm has been deprecated for a long time,
	and support for it will be removed in a future release.
	See <shadow-maint#1456>

-  MD5
	This hashing algorithm has been deprecated for a long time,
	and support for it will be removed in a future release.
	See <shadow-maint#1457>

-  login.defs(5): MD_CRYPT_ENAB
	This feature had been deprecated for decades.  It will be
	removed in a future release.
	The command-line equivalents (-m, --md5) of this feature in
	chpasswd(8) and chgpasswd(8) will also be removed in a future
	release.
	See <shadow-maint#1455>.

-  login.defs(5): PASS_MAX_LEN
	This feature is ignored except for DES.  Once DES is removed,
	it makes no sense keeping it.  It may be removed in a future
	release.

-  Password aging
	Scientific research shows that periodic password expiration
	leads to predictable password patterns, and that even in a
	theoretical scenario where that wouldn't happen the gains in
	security are mathematically negligible.
	<https://people.scs.carleton.ca/~paulv/papers/expiration-authorcopy.pdf>

	Modern security standards, such as NIST SP 800-63B-4 in the USA,
	prohibit periodic password expiration.
	<https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-4/sp800-63b.html#passwordver>
	<https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-FAQ/#q-b05>
	<https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/passwords/updating-your-approach#PasswordGuidance:UpdatingYourApproach-Don'tenforceregularpasswordexpiry>

	To align with these, we're deprecating the ability to
	periodically expire passwords.  The specifics and long-term
	roadmap are currently being discussed, and we invite feedback
	from users, particularly from those in regulated environments.
	See <shadow-maint#1432>.

	This deprecation includes the following programs and features:

	expiry(1)
	chage(1):
		-I,--inactive (also the interactive version)
		-m,--mindays (also the interactive version)
		-M,--maxdays (also the interactive version)
		-W,--warndays (also the interactive version)
	passwd(1):
		-k,--keep-tokens
		-n,--mindays
		-x,--maxdays
		-i,--inactive
		-w,--warndays
	useradd(8):
		-f,--inactive
	usermod(8):
		-f,--inactive
	login.defs(5):
		PASS_MIN_DAYS
		PASS_MAX_DAYS
		PASS_WARN_AGE
	/etc/default/useradd:
		INACTIVE
	shadow(5):
		sp_lstchg: Restrict to just the values 0 and empty.
		sp_min
		sp_max
		sp_warn
		sp_inact

	We recognize that many users operate in environments with
	regulatory or contractual requirements that still mandate
	password aging.  To minimize disruption, these features will
	remain functional for a significant period.  However, we
	encourage administrators to review their internal policies,
	talk to their regulators if appropriate, and participate in the
	roadmap discussion linked above.

Co-authored-by: Iker Pedrosa <ipedrosa@redhat.com>
Signed-off-by: Alejandro Colomar <alx@kernel.org>

Author: alejandro-colomar

configure.ac

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ m4_define([libsubid_abi_minor], [0])
 m4_define([libsubid_abi_micro], [0])
 m4_define([libsubid_abi], [libsubid_abi_major.libsubid_abi_minor.libsubid_abi_micro])
 
-AC_INIT([shadow], [4.19.0-rc1], [pkg-shadow-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org], [],
+AC_INIT([shadow], [4.19.0], [pkg-shadow-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org], [],
 	[https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow])
 AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIRS([m4])
 AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([build-aux])