Which command forces a user to change their password at the next login?

The option that forces a user to change their password at the next login is the command that uses the chage utility with the -d option set to 0. This command effectively sets the last password change date to 0, which is interpreted by the system as requiring the user to change their password during their next login. It directly influences the password expiration policy for that user account.

The chage command is specifically designed for changing user password expiry information and is suitable for administrative tasks related to user password management.

While other commands like passwd are relevant in the context of passwords, they do not accomplish the specific task of mandating a password change in a contextual manner as implemented in the chage command. For instance, the passwd -e user option would expire the user's password; however, it does not necessarily enforce a change upon the next login unless the account configuration supports expiration based on the system settings. Similarly, the options involving passwd user -force and usermod -e user are not valid commands for achieving the required outcome of forcing a password change at the next login. Users should be familiar with these distinctions to ensure proper account management in system administration.