linux password hashing algorithm

Display Current Hashing Algorithm

Type the following command:
# authconfig --test | grep hashing
Sample outputs:

password hashing algorithm is md5

Configure Linux Server To Use The SHA-512

To configure the Linux system to use the SHA-512 algorithm, enter:
# authconfig --passalgo=sha512 --update
Note users need to change their passwords in order to generate hashes using SHA-512. You can force users to change their password on next login:
# chage -d 0 userName