Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 22:25:24 -0400 From: Aaron Jeremias Luz <aaron@csh.rit.edu> To: Roman Katsnelson <romank@graphnet.com> Cc: questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: root passwd Message-ID: <19980624222524.34067@homenet> In-Reply-To: <35915453.F1326936@graphnet.com>; from Roman Katsnelson on Wed, Jun 24, 1998 at 03:32:36PM -0400 References: <35915453.F1326936@graphnet.com>
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On Wed, Jun 24, 1998 at 03:32:36PM -0400, Roman Katsnelson wrote: > Eek! I forgot the root password! > > Well, actually I didn't forget it, I set it, but then the system sorta > crashed and now it doesn't recognize it anymore. So I went to the FAQ > and it said to do this: > > (boot up in single user mode) > > mount -u / > passwd root > mount -a > exit > > i have two things about this: > > a)it doesn't work -- i get a "passwd not found" command -- anything I > can do except reinstall from scratch? (full system from FTP -- i'd > rather not :-) You must first mount the /usr filesystem where passwd lives. The sequence of commands I would use is "/sbin/mount -a", "/usr/bin/passwd", "exit". A couple points to note: 1) you may need to type in the full pathname of the commands depending on how you setup your shell profile and login classes (That is, login classes do not apply to single user mode. Only shell profiles do.) 2) the FAQ needs to be updated. > and > > b) if it DOES work -- itsn't it a serious security issue that anyone > with the access to the FAQ (which is every literate person in the > world!) can get root password? i know that it's probably not, but i > would just like to be explained WHY not, if possible. Nah, in single user mode, user interaction with the computer is limited to the console device which is either a serial terminal or the computer's monitor and keyboard. If you're that close to the computer, you could probably give it a good swift kick and do more damage than any break-in over the network. :-) Aaron To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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