Default Centos Linux password for root account

Question

I installed Centos 5 OS and didn't setup any user password at that point but when boot up machine its looking for a username & password. default username is root I am sure doesa anyone knows default password for it.

Answer 1

Some default root passwords I've encountered in the past:

• "root"
• "toor"
• "" (no password)

Googling CentOS root password gets me this, which has the LiveCD password as "12qwaszx". If you installed using the LiveCD, then that may be it.

Edit 2: the editing - Finally, this document on CentOS 5 Installation indicates you can't have installed without setting a root password, so are you sure you didn't just forget? Try some of your commonly used passwords.

If all else fails, you can try to follow these instructions on resetting a forgotten root password.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure that the normal install process requires you to type in a root password. There is no 'default'. Since you can't login at all, you haven't customized the machine yet or populated it with data, maybe you should try the install process again and look for the screen that is prompting you to type in the root password.

Answer 3

I've worked with CentOS countless times, when installing, you have to select the password and confirm it twice.

Follow this and boot into single user then change the password: http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/Installation_Guide-en-US/s1-rescuemode-booting-single.html

Then type 'passwd'

Answer 4

This is how you reset the password:

Reboot the machine:

From the console CTRL-ALT-DEL

If you've got GDM or a GUI installed, there's an option there to reboot. If not, CTRL-ALT-F1 to switch to a console VT and then do a CTRL-ALT-DEL as above.

Presumably you're using grub, so when the grub bootloader comes up, press any key to enter the bootloader. The default kernel should be the first in the list, so press to append something to that particular kernel entry.

Go to the end of the line and add '1' or 'single' to that entry. Make sure to leave a space between that and the previous word. Then press to exit that particular mode and 'b' should boot you up again.

You should be dropped into a root prompt. You can change the password by remounting / as read-write (as by default it'll be read-only) & running passwd

# mount -o rw /
# passwd root
# mount -o ro /

Reboot the machine again and your new root password is the password you set in single user mode.

Note: I don't think it's possible to go through the installation process without setting a password without some kind of custom kickstart script.

Answer 5

You should have been asked to enter a root password. However to overcome your problem, just boot into single user and change root password.

Answer 6

I believe that root password was random generated, so nobody knows it.

Answer 7

Or use any live CD like Knoppix to modify /etc/shadow ... .

Answer 8

i dont think in linux any default passwd is there u have to set or u can go in to single user mode and reset a new one!!

Answer 9

the only option is to go single mode and reset the password.the linux/unix doesnt have default password

Katundu

Answer 10

If your system was installed using a kickstart file the root password will be specified with the rootpw option.

Answer 11

Start the quemu guest,then

1. On the GRUB menu, press e.
2. Select the second line, press e
3. Append -s after a space
4. Press Enter then b
5. Right click on quemu guest and open console,then type sh-3.2#passwd root
6. Change the password and type init 6 to reboot