.pacnew: File /etc/passwd

[MaMicha]

Cleaning up my .pacnew-files i’m wondering about /etc/passwd. The .pacnew-version is:

/etc/passwd.pacnew
root:x:0:0::/root:/usr/bin/bash

The actual file is:

root:x:0:0::/root:/bin/bash
nobody:x:65534:65534:Nobody:/:/usr/bin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:System Message Bus:/:/usr/bin/nologin
bin:x:1:1::/:/usr/bin/nologin
daemon:x:2:2::/:/usr/bin/nologin
mail:x:8:12::/var/spool/mail:/usr/bin/nologin
ftp:x:14:11::/srv/ftp:/usr/bin/nologin
http:x:33:33::/srv/http:/usr/bin/nologin
systemd-journal-remote:x:982:982:systemd Journal Remote:/:/usr/bin/nologin
systemd-network:x:981:981:systemd Network Management:/:/usr/bin/nologin
systemd-resolve:x:980:980:systemd Resolver:/:/usr/bin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:979:979:systemd Time Synchronization:/:/usr/bin/nologin
systemd-coredump:x:978:978:systemd Core Dumper:/:/usr/bin/nologin
uuidd:x:68:68::/:/usr/bin/nologin
dhcpcd:x:977:977:dhcpcd privilege separation:/var/lib/dhcpcd:/usr/bin/nologin
dnsmasq:x:976:976:dnsmasq daemon:/:/usr/bin/nologin
...
alpm:x:954:954:Manjaro Linux Package Management:/:/usr/bin/nologin

I’m thinking to drop the .pacnew, but what about the difference in fist line:
pacnew: root:x:0:0::/root:/usr/bin/bash
actual: root:x:0:0::/root:/bin/bash
Would you add some part from the .pacnew?

[Nachlese]

@MaMicha

Would you add some part from the .pacnew?

Yes - replace this line from the .pacnew with the one in your original - or simply edit the original by adding /usr to this path (so it looks the same)

/etc/shells also had a .pacnew with this

(nothing bad will happen if you just leave it like it is)

[Aragorn]

@Nachlese

(nothing bad will happen if you just leave it like it is)

The rationale is that in the past, /bin, /lib and /sbin were root-level directories, and the bash executable was located in /bin. However, most (but not all) distributions have for a number of years already adopted the so-called /usr merge, whereby /bin, /lib and /sbin are now symbolic links to their counterparts under the /usr hierarchy, whereby /usr/sbin is itself now also a symbolic link to /usr/bin.

This situation as it currently stands is expected to be transitional, so that in the future, the /bin, /lib and /sbin symbolic links might be removed from the root directory. As such, without the required modifications to /etc/passwd, the root account would not be able to function anymore.