Error while using usseradd from perl code : cannot lock /etc/passwd

Question

I am writing a perl program for user administration, and I keep getting this error: useradd: Permission denied. useradd: cannot lock /etc/passwd; try again later. I run the program using su -c command, the code below is the relevant snippet - full code at https://github.com/Kajkacz/ASU_Indexing/blob/master/Users.pl .

sub createUserPage{

    $Mw->destroy;
    $Mw = MainWindow->new;
    $Mw->geometry("500x300");
    $Mw->title("Create User");
    my $uid = &getFreeUID;
    my $uspasswd = &randomizePassword;
    my $usname = 'UsernameHere';

    my $username = $Mw->Entry(-textvariable=> \$usname )->grid($Mw->Label(-text => 'Username'));
    my $UID = $Mw->Entry(-textvariable=> \$uid )->grid($Mw->Label(-text => 'UID'));
    my $password = $Mw ->Entry(-textvariable=> \$uspasswd)->grid($Mw->Label(-text => 'Password'));

    $Mw->Button(-text=>"Create User", -command =>sub{&createUser($uid,$usname,$uspasswd)},-width => $buttonWidth)->grid();
    $Mw->Button(-text=>"Check If UID is free", -command =>sub{&checkUID($uid)},-width => $buttonWidth)->grid();
    $Mw->Button(-text=>"Get Random Password", -command =>sub{$uspasswd = &randomizePassword},-width => $buttonWidth)->grid();

    $Mw->Button(-text=>"Back to Main Menu", -command =>sub{&getStartWindow},-width => $buttonWidth)->grid();}

sub createUser{
     my $UID = shift;
     my $username =     shift;
     my $password = shift;
     my $adduser = '/usr/sbin/useradd';
     my $cmd = qq($adduser \"$username\");
     # my $cmd = qq($adduser \"$username\" -p \"$password\" -u $UID);
     print "$cmd \n";
     system $cmd; }

I'd welcome any insight possible.Also, my first ever Perl program, so feel free to correct my code

That's just two function definitions; running this code doesn't do anything. — melpomene, Dec 28 '18 at 15:34
@melpomene Hey, sorry, first time posting on SO, hope that's better. There's a link to github above, whole code is a little long, so I don't want to post it here in full.Should I do that? I use strict and warnings. — Kajkacz, Dec 28 '18 at 15:43

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 28 '18 at 16:06

1

So, I found a fix by using this solution : How to fix 'sudo: no tty present and no askpass program specified' error? and making useradd to the list of commmands run without password prompt.Not sure if hacky or good solution

answered Dec 28 '18 at 16:06

Kajkacz

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Error while using usseradd from perl code : cannot lock /etc/passwd

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