Cant edit users

[joelt]

Sometimes if i create a user, change the name for that user, then try to go back to the original username it says the following:

"That username is reserved by the system"

I dont know why it only does this for some users but how can i go back to the original username when i get this error?

I do see the username in /etc/passwd. Do i delete that? If so, how?

[Gertjan]

Hi,

I can reproduce this issue.

I have a user, "001", Full name "001" - with password, member of a group called PortalUsers.
This is a non "root" user, just a login for my captive portal.
I could edit it, changing username and full name to "001001 and "001001" and identical password.
Save => Ok.
I wanted to re edit this user to go back to "001" for username and Full name : the error was shown.
Of course, a user called "001001" or "001" can't be "reserved by the system" ....

[johnpoz]

So trying to reproduce this - created user billy, changed it to billyuser, then back to billy without any issues.

Ok I even created a group.. Put billy in the group, then changed his name to billytest2, then back to billy

Can not reproduce this - you have maybe something filling in the info for you in your browser like admin.. Lastpass could do this - I logged out of lastpass while testing this because it kept putting in admin for the username when hit the edit billy button.

[Gertjan]

Humm.
Was about to edit my post but @johnpoz was to fast.

Again, I took a user "001", etc etc see my image above.

So, I checked the manual (/usr/local/www/systemuser_manager.php and /etc/inc/auth.inc where the function local_user_set() lives) and put this function in debug mode (adding $debug=1; at the start of the function).
Logging should became more verbose.
Then, I did the thing one shouldn't do, I edited (deleted the line) the user "001001:*:2057:65534:002:/home/001:/sbin/nologin in /etc/passwd.
(and removed /home/001001/ also).

From there on : I had more vebose logs ***, no more problems. I could edit - and edit again - re-edit, delete, create, edit.
I removed the debug line.
Still, all ok, the error vanished.

Curious.
I have this feeling that I touched the /etc/passwd file (system == FreeBSD maintained) and after that all was ok again.
I can't explain ....

** more verbose logs in the ....... captive portal log - not the system log ...

edit : I rebooted. Could edit a user just fine.
Strange - but solved