Forgotton root password

chomps · 07-07-2006, 07:56 AM

I have a Fedora Core 4 server and I connect to it via ssh. I have forgotton the root password and need to update some mail files. Is there any way I can get this password back? I know other passwords to limited users such as myself and usually just su as root afterwards. help please if possible...

win32sux · 07-07-2006, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chomps

I have a Fedora Core 4 server and I connect to it via ssh. I have forgotton the root password and need to update some mail files. Is there any way I can get this password back? I know other passwords to limited users such as myself and usually just su as root afterwards. help please if possible...

do you have physical access to the box?? if not, you're out of luck...

of course, without physical access, if you don't have the shadow suite installed on the box, you could still try and crack the root password with john the ripper or something... but the shadow suite is installed by default on almost all distros *precisely* for this reason...

zeitounator · 07-07-2006, 08:21 AM

Boot your machine in single user mode. At the prompt type passwd. Enter your password twice. Type exit and the machine will automatically switch to whatever runlevel is configured in /etc/inittab.

chomps · 07-07-2006, 08:42 AM

Unfortunatly I only have SSH access as I am about 1000Km from site at the moment and will be for quite a while. Isn't there an ssh tool like brute force or something that can crack it. I've used so many passwords that I've actually locked myself out. I do have other access but no write permissions

win32sux · 07-07-2006, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chomps

Unfortunatly I only have SSH access as I am about 1000Km from site at the moment and will be for quite a while. Isn't there an ssh tool like brute force or something that can crack it. I've used so many passwords that I've actually locked myself out.

yes, there are brute force programs available... but i think it would be best to have a moderator jump in here before people start linking warez and the like, as this likely conflicts with the LQ rules...

Quote:

I do have other access but no write permissions

huh?? you have read access to the shadow file??

spooon · 07-07-2006, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chomps

Unfortunatly I only have SSH access as I am about 1000Km from site at the moment and will be for quite a while. Isn't there an ssh tool like brute force or something that can crack it. I've used so many passwords that I've actually locked myself out. I do have other access but no write permissions

* Can't you instruct someone at the site to boot into single-user mode?
* Do any of your users have any sudo privileges?

Otherwise you are out of luck. Consider how bad it would be if limited users without anything else could somehow become root.

jtshaw · 07-08-2006, 01:02 PM

I would have somebody who is on site to change the password to something known through single user mode, and then you log in and change again.

Brute force attempts are probably going to just waste your time for hours with no results.