password file '%s' must have at least 3 columns (password, u

Error message

password file '%s' must have at least 3 columns (password, user name, user uid), found %d

What it means

Error "password file '%s' must have at least 3 columns (password, user name, user uid), found %d" thrown in k3s-io/k3s.

Source

Thrown at pkg/authenticator/passwordfile/passwordfile.go:66

	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	defer file.Close()

	recordNum := 0
	users := make(map[string]*userPasswordInfo)
	reader := csv.NewReader(file)
	reader.FieldsPerRecord = -1
	for {
		record, err := reader.Read()
		if err == io.EOF {
			break
		}
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}
		if len(record) < 3 {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("password file '%s' must have at least 3 columns (password, user name, user uid), found %d", path, len(record))
		}
		hash, err := nodepassword.Hasher.CreateHash(record[0])
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to hash password for username '%s' in password file '%s': %v", record[1], path, err)
		}
		obj := &userPasswordInfo{
			info: &user.DefaultInfo{Name: record[1], UID: record[2]},
			hash: hash,
		}
		if len(record) >= 4 {
			obj.info.Groups = strings.Split(record[3], ",")
		}
		recordNum++
		if _, exist := users[obj.info.Name]; exist {
			klog.Warningf("duplicate username '%s' has been found in password file '%s', record number '%d'", obj.info.Name, path, recordNum)
		}
		users[obj.info.Name] = obj
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to 6ba341e396)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at pkg/authenticator/passwordfile/passwordfile.go:66 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of k3s-io/k3s@6ba341e396 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/281df2efd25d8c20. Report an issue: GitHub.