Root Access

Obie · 05-31-2004, 06:43 PM

Just out of curiosity, if I were to forget say my root password is there a way I can gain access without having to re-install?.

Moderators - I'm not sure if this is entirely a security question but from my perspective it seems to be

ranger_nemo · 05-31-2004, 06:58 PM

Yes, search for "linux single", and you'll find a number of threads.

Obie · 05-31-2004, 07:48 PM

ranger_nemo,

I tried some of the suggestions but none of them seem to work in particular linux single

unSpawn · 05-31-2004, 08:09 PM

I'm not sure if this is entirely a security question
Yes it is. Amongst other things it shows one should think about physical security, running sulogin and not having the BIOS boot from fd/cdr.

I tried some of the suggestions but none of them seem to work
Please tell what doesn't work instead of *saying* it doesnt work.

Obie · 05-31-2004, 08:12 PM

unSpawn,

Sorry I wasn't clear. When I said it doesn't work is that the kernel always goes inot panic mode and fails to boot.

linuxzouk · 05-31-2004, 08:27 PM

http://kitech.com.my/fedoraguide/ind...gerootpassword

Obie · 05-31-2004, 08:29 PM

You assume I use Fedora which I am not.

linuxzouk · 05-31-2004, 08:31 PM

it's an example, should work the same for your distro...

you using redhat right? put in redhat cd1
then when u see boot, type "linux rescue"
then follow instructions
when u see the prompt
# chroot /mnt/sysimage
# passwd root

should be something like that

unSpawn · 05-31-2004, 08:35 PM

When I said it doesn't work is that the kernel always goes inot panic mode and fails to boot.
Please describe what bootloader you're using and what bootloader arguments you added? If there's anything else different from booting a default Linux install, please tell.

Obie · 05-31-2004, 08:36 PM

so anyone with a redhat cd could potentially reset my password?

linuxzouk · 05-31-2004, 08:37 PM

yes! not only reset password but can have full access

read this, it applies to redhat too and i think most linux
http://kitech.com.my/fedoraguide/ind...#basicsecurity

Obie · 05-31-2004, 08:50 PM

unSpawn,

I am using Red Hat default bootloader. Hmm, I don't have immediate access to my linux box at the moment but I remember adding single and 1

linuxzouk,

I suppose I should disable running the CD-ROM from BIOS. Is there any other way I could prevent the user from gaining full access by simply using the Red hat CD.

linuxzouk · 05-31-2004, 08:59 PM

SET A GRUB PASSWORD

A user can have root access even without login and redhat rescue cd (if you do not set grub password)

i have not tested it on redhat, but should work in general

1) At your RedHat boot loader
-type 'a' to modify the kernel arguments before booting

2) Once you see the prompt, Add "1" to the end of the argument put a space before 1 eg.
-grub append> blah blah blah 1

3) When you see the prompt, you have root access

<going to add this topic to my guide>

Obie · 05-31-2004, 09:12 PM

That seems easy enought but is there a way to prevent any of these issues?

linuxzouk · 05-31-2004, 09:15 PM

have u read

http://kitech.com.my/fedoraguide/ind...#basicsecurity

it should answer your question (applies to redhat too)

maybe there is other ways that i am not aware of, if you found any! just let me know