IBM AIX 7.1 – Common Problem 250 – Diagnosis and Fix

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

User sees 3004-007 You entered an invalid login name or password and cannot log in.

Environment & Reproduction

Hit after too many failed attempts, expired account, or /etc/security misconfig.

Root Cause Analysis

User has unsuccessful_login_count >= login_retries or account_locked = true.

Quick Triage

Run lsuser -a unsuccessful_login_count account_locked username to inspect state.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Check /etc/security/lastlog and /etc/security/login.cfg for retry policy.

Solution – Primary Fix

Unlock with chuser unsuccessful_login_count=0 account_locked=false username.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

If password expired, run pwdadm -c username then ask the user to set a new one.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

User logs in successfully and lsuser shows account_locked=false.

Rollback Plan

Re-lock the account with chuser account_locked=true username if needed.

Prevention & Hardening

Tune login_retries, lock-out windows, and monitor failed logins via /etc/security.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Related to PAM stack issues, LDAP user lookups, and SSH key auth failures.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for aix-7.1.

View all aix-7.1 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

IBM AIX 7.2 security and lsuser/chuser documentation.