Fingerprint vs. Password

General Help
1

Hi, I managed to enable my fingerprint sensor, but it acts not as I would expect.

  1. I can only use my fingerprint for login. Is there a possibiliy to have both, password and fingerprint available at the same time?

  2. After logging in with fingerprint I am asked to enter the password as soon as I open the first app. For me the fingerprint functionality does not make sense if I also have to enter my password. Can I also change to fingerprint authentication here?

I am running Zorin OS 17.3 Pro.

2

Hi. As Zorin is a fork of Ubuntu, see if this askubuntu thread helps:

3

Since I am still running Zorin OS 17.3 Ctrl+C does not work yet. Only waiting for the timeout or putting the wrong finger on the scanner triggers the password input. Had hoped for a more elegant solution.

4

I decided to do a search for the best GNU/Linux OS that supports your requirements which came back with

"Fedora is the best Linux OS for using a fingerprint reader for all authorizations, not just login. It offers out-of-the-box support for fingerprint authentication with GNOME, enabling seamless use across login, sudo , and Polkit-based authorization (e.g., system dialogs, GUI admin tasks). This functionality is built into the default installation, requiring minimal setup.

For other distributions:

  • Ubuntu and Linux Mint (based on Ubuntu) also support fingerprint authentication well, especially with GNOME, but may require manual steps like updating firmware (e.g., fwupdmgr update for ThinkPads) and installing libpam-fprintd .
  • Pop!_OS provides excellent fingerprint integration with GNOME, working reliably for both login and sudo after installing fprintd .
  • Arch Linux and Manjaro require more manual configuration via fprintd and PAM, but offer full control and access to bleeding-edge packages like libfprint-tod for newer sensors.

Key setup steps (for non-Fedora systems):

  • Install fprintd and libpam-fprintd .
  • Enable fingerprint authentication in PAM via pam-auth-update or manual edits to /etc/pam.d/system-auth .
  • Enroll fingerprints using fprintd-enroll .
  • Ensure fprintd is running and properly configured in your display manager (GDM, SDDM, etc.).

Note : Avoid using fingerprint-only authentication for sudo , polkit , or su due to security risks (e.g., CVE-2024-37408), which allow background processes to bypass authentication. Always keep a fallback password method.

AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."

Note the security issues which might be why you have limited access with your fingerprint reader.

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5

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