Error "passwd: Module is unknown" is shown when changing a user's password in Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • Whenever a user tries to change a password, it fails with the following error:
# passwd testuser
Changing password for user testuser.
passwd: Module is unknown

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, 7
  • PAM
  • In some cases, this can be related to third-party Security software such as VAS, or CA eTrust (seos)

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