diff -ur yp-tools-4.2.3/src/yppasswd.c yp-tools-4.2.3/src/yppasswd.c
--- yp-tools-4.2.3/src/yppasswd.c       2018-03-27 15:47:48.000000000 +0200
+++ yp-tools-4.2.3/src/yppasswd.c        2022-08-16 19:02:41.727441211 +0200
@@ -689,6 +689,11 @@
         }
     }

+  if (strchr(pwd->pw_passwd, '!') != NULL || strchr(pwd->pw_passwd, '*') != NULL) {
+      printf("%s: The account is locked or has no password. Please unlock the account or set an initial password.\nPlease use 'passwd' or other tools that support this change. For more information, please check man pages 'passwd(5)' or 'shadow(5)'\n", progname);
+      return 1;
+  }
+
   /* Initialize password information */
   memset (&yppwd, '\0', sizeof (yppwd));
   yppwd.newpw.pw_passwd = pwd->pw_passwd;