"plex" User Credentials

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Hi everyone,

I’m running Plex Media Server on my DiskStation DS916+. Upon installing the Plex Media Server package, the automatically system creates a user called “plex”. I would like to toughen its security setting because I see it as a potential vulnerability.

  1. Does anyone know what are is the default password of that user?
  2. Is it possible to change the default password without hampering Plex’s normal function?
  3. Is it possible to set Synology’s 2-step verification to the “plex” user?

Thanks!

2

User plex is the name of the service.

It is not an account you log into.

You access it from your browser

3

I see.
So it doesn’t really have a “password” that can be used to log in into to DSM and wreck havoc?
And you can’t set up 2-step verification for it?

Thanks!

4

Correct.

If there is a one-way password encryption which yields the string x then you’re in but, last I checked, that’s mathematically impossible :slight_smile:

5

Thanks! I wonder why it is done that way and not as transparent service/daemon… It’s confusing.

6

It’s done this way because plex doesn’t need any special privileges. It exists on the system, compartmentalized in its own directories, unable to read/write anything which it shouldn’t. There are a number of such usernames on any given Linux system

As example, consider my default Linux machine. Field 1 (: is the separator) is the username (e.g. plex)

bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/sbin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/sbin/nologin
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/adm:/sbin/nologin
lp:x:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/sbin/nologin
sync:x:5:0:sync:/sbin:/bin/sync
shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/sbin:/sbin/shutdown
halt:x:7:0:halt:/sbin:/sbin/halt
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/sbin/nologin
operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin
games:x:12:100:games:/usr/games:/sbin/nologin
ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/var/ftp:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:Nobody:/:/sbin/nologin
apache:x:48:48:Apache:/usr/share/httpd:/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:999:997:systemd Time Synchronization:/:/sbin/nologin
systemd-network:x:998:996:systemd Network Management:/:/sbin/nologin
systemd-resolve:x:997:995:systemd Resolver:/:/sbin/nologin
systemd-bus-proxy:x:996:994:systemd Bus Proxy:/:/sbin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:System message bus:/:/sbin/nologin
polkitd:x:995:993:User for polkitd:/:/sbin/nologin
geoclue:x:994:992:User for geoclue:/var/lib/geoclue:/sbin/nologin
colord:x:993:991:User for colord:/var/lib/colord:/sbin/nologin
abrt:x:173:173::/etc/abrt:/sbin/nologin
saslauth:x:992:76:Saslauthd user:/run/saslauthd:/sbin/nologin
rtkit:x:172:172:RealtimeKit:/proc:/sbin/nologin
pulse:x:171:171:PulseAudio System Daemon:/var/run/pulse:/sbin/nologin
setroubleshoot:x:991:987::/var/lib/setroubleshoot:/sbin/nologin
avahi:x:70:70:Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack:/var/run/avahi-daemon:/sbin/nologin
chrony:x:990:986::/var/lib/chrony:/sbin/nologin
rpc:x:32:32:Rpcbind Daemon:/var/lib/rpcbind:/sbin/nologin
usbmuxd:x:113:113:usbmuxd user:/:/sbin/nologin
gdm:x:42:42::/var/lib/gdm:/sbin/nologin
openvpn:x:989:985:OpenVPN:/etc/openvpn:/sbin/nologin
nm-openvpn:x:988:984:Default user for running openvpn spawned by NetworkManager:/:/sbin/nologin
radvd:x:75:75:radvd user:/:/sbin/nologin
unbound:x:987:983:Unbound DNS resolver:/etc/unbound:/sbin/nologin
qemu:x:107:107:qemu user:/:/sbin/nologin
rpcuser:x:29:29:RPC Service User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
nfsnobody:x:65534:65534:Anonymous NFS User:/var/lib/nfs:/sbin/nologin
gnome-initial-setup:x:986:980::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/sbin/nologin
nm-openconnect:x:985:979:NetworkManager user for OpenConnect:/:/sbin/nologin
sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin