# Arch Linux: Changes to default password hashing algorithm and umask settings

**URL:** <https://forum.devtalk.com/t/arch-linux-changes-to-default-password-hashing-algorithm-and-umask-settings/125587>\
**Category:** Linux Official News\
**Tags:** newsbot, linux, arch, arch-linux, official-news\
**Created:** [22 September 2023 21:04 UTC](https://forum.devtalk.com/t/arch-linux-changes-to-default-password-hashing-algorithm-and-umask-settings/125587 "2023-09-22T21:04:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![NewsBot](https://forum.devtalk.com/user_avatar/forum.devtalk.com/newsbot/32/1114_2.png) [@NewsBot](https://forum.devtalk.com/u/NewsBot)\
**Post date:** [22 September 2023 21:04 UTC](https://forum.devtalk.com/t/arch-linux-changes-to-default-password-hashing-algorithm-and-umask-settings/125587/1 "2023-09-22T21:04:44Z")

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A new [Arch Linux](https://devtalk.com/arch-linux) blog post/announcement has been posted!

> [@](#):
>
> With _shadow_ \>= `4.14.0`, Arch Linux's default password hashing algorithm changed from **SHA512** to **yescrypt** [1].
> 
> Furthermore, the `umask` [2] settings are now configured in `/etc/login.defs` instead of `/etc/profile`.
> 
> This should not require any manual intervention.
> 
> ## Reasons for Yescrypt
> 
> The password-based key derivation function (KDF) and password hashing scheme **yescrypt** has been chosen due to its adoption (readily available in _libxcrypt_, which is used by _pam_ [3]) and its stronger resilience towards password cracking attempts over **SHA512**.
> 
> Although the winner of the Password Hashing Competition [4] has been **argon2** , this even more resilient algorithm is not yet available in _libxcrypt_ [5][6].
> 
> ## Configuring yescrypt
> 
> The `YESCRYPT_COST_FACTOR` setting in `/...
> `

`
Get the full details here: Arch Linux - News: Changes to default password hashing algorithm and umask settings`