Re: Password Schemes

does the {MD5} vs {SHA512-CRYPT} in passwd over-rule auth-passwdfile.conf.ext ?

Yes this is by design and is why passwords are prefixed with the type. This allows easy upgrade to stronger encryption in the future without having to throw out all the old passwords at once. It allows users to re-create their password with the newer encryption on the next login. Otherwise how would they ever log to change their password.