Release 4.19.0

Breaking changes:

-  Remove support for escaped newlines in configuration files.
   It never worked correctly.
   b0a7ce58b924 (2025-12-05; "lib/, po/: Remove fgetsx() and fputsx()")

-  Some user names and group names are too dangerous and are rejected,
   even with --badname.
   25aea7422615 (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 <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/1452>.

Support:

-  Several years ago, there were talks about deprecating su(1) and
   login(1), back when this project was maintained as part of Debian.
   However, nothing was clearly stated, and there were doubts about the
   status of these programs.  Let's clarify them now.

   Our implementations of su(1) and login(1) are fully supported, and we
   don't have any plans to remove them.  They are NOT deprecated.
   See <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/issues/464>.

Deprecations:

-  groupmems(8)
	The program will be removed in a future release.
	See <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/issues/1343>.

-  logoutd(8)
	The program will be removed in the next release.
	See <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/issues/999>,
	and <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/1344>.

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

-  MD5
	This hashing algorithm has been deprecated for a long time,
	and support for it will be removed in a future release.
	See <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/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 <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/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 <https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow/pull/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>

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])