Need to obtain the root password

[sydknee]

We have a HP9000 L2000 server and my predecessor has left root passwords that do not work.

Is there anyway of obtaining the password or resetting it?

Getting desperate so sledge hammer is sounding good at the moment.

Tanks

[Torsten.]

You can probably only bring the system down and start in single user mode in order to set a new password.

[Tim Nelson]

Unless you created a back-door then Torsten's way is the only way..

If it were not then everyone could hack everyone ;)

Take as many applications down as possible to reduce the impact of crashing the servers.


(note, are you sure all the passwords are wrong ? most servers are configured to disable direct login with "root" did you try su - )

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

You boot the system at console to single user mode.

hpux -is after intervening at the ISL prompt.

No way to obtain it. If it was not complex enough, crack/cracklib might be able to guess it, but better you simply reboot.

Hopefully you have an operations user that is allowed to reboot or you will need to use the power switch.

SEP

[Kranti Mahmud]

Hi Sydknee,

You need to rest the root password as per following procedure:

After powering on or resetting your computer (or nPartition) take control of the boot process by hitting any key on the console keyboard so that autoboot/autosearch will not boot the system automatically (if they are currently enabled). The Boot Console Handler will display its main menu.

The Boot Console Handler (BCH) will display its main menu and prompt for a command:

Main Menu: Enter command >

Boot the desired device using the BOOT command at the BCH interface, and specify that the boot process stop at the ISL prompt (reply y to the â stop at the ISL promptâ question).
Main Menu: Enter command or menu > BOOT ALT

Alternate Boot Path: 0/0/0/3/0.6

Do you wish to stop at the ISL prompt prior to booting? (y/n) >> y

Initializing boot Device.

....

ISL Revision A.00.43 Apr 12, 2000

ISL> HPUX -is

it will go to single user mode. Then cahnge the password by executing

# passwd root


Rgds-Kranti

[sudheerch]

1. if u can restart the server
restart into single user mode and passwd is
the command to reset the password
if the server is trusted restart into single
user mode and edit the
/tcb/files/auth/r/root file and remove the
password line, with out removing :
2. if u cannot restart the server
take backup of the /tcb/files/auth/r/root
and overwrite the same file from working
and known password server. Now u will know
the password of the HP9000 L2000 server,
so you can change the password using
passwd command on HP9000 L2000

Don't forget to assign point if u got solution


regards
Sudheer Ch

[Steven Schweda]

You'd think that there'd be a FAQ somewhere
which explained how to reset the root
password on an HP-UX system, so that someone
would just cite the thing instead of posting
a whole procedure. Repeatedly.

Well, I'd think that, anyway.

[madhuchakkaravarthy]

hi

if system not in trusted mode

interrupt the pdc
boot pri
interact with isl ----- yes

isl > hpux -is

passwd root


if system in trusted mode

boot in to single user mode

/usr/lbin/tsconvert -r
passwd root
/usr/lbin/tsconvert


or

/usr/lbin/modprpw -k root
/usr/sam/lbin/usermod sam -F -P "" root
passwd root
init 3

regards

MC