How to Change the Password on Ubuntu 22.04

February 25, 2020

Recovering the root password might seem frightening, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. On a RHEL/CentOS version 7 or later system, thanks to the Grub bootloader it’s actually pretty simple.

And that’s it. You should now have root password access to this system. 

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sudo command-name

sudo su -

whoami

Output
root

sudo passwd root

Output
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully

First, you have to reboot into recovery mode.

If you have a single-boot (Ubuntu is the only operating system on your computer), to get the boot menu to show, you have to hold down the Shift key during bootup.

From the boot menu, select recovery mode, which is usually the second boot option.

After you select recovery mode and wait for all the boot-up processes to finish, you’ll be presented with a few options. In this case, you want the Drop to root shell prompt option so press the Down arrow to get to that option, and then press Enter to select it.

ls /home

To reset the password, type

passwd username

passwd susan

You’ll then be prompted for a new password. When you type the password you will get no visual response acknowledging your typing. Your password is still being accepted. Just type the password and hit Enter when you’re done. You’ll be prompted to retype the password. Do so and hit Enter again.

Now the password should be reset.

to return to the recovery menu.

After you get back to the recovery menu, select resume normal boot, and use Ubuntu as you normally would—only this time, you actually know the password!

Now just use:

SET PASSWORD FOR <user> = '<plaintext_password>'

Update 04/12 2021 AM 2:22:07 UTC/GMT -5 hours.

mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR'root'@'localhost' = PASSWORD('newpass');

or 1.The terminal enters the bin directory of MySQL

cd /usr/local/mysql/bin

mysql -u root -p

3.At this time you can use your default password

4.Perform operations in MySQL at this time

show databases;

So how to reset the root password? I checked a lot of information but it didn’t take effect.

1.It is still in the cd /usr/local/mysql/bin/ directory

After entering, you will be asked to enter your computer password.

When you enter it, nothing is displayed. After you enter it, press Enter

Then press enter

3.Cross the authorization verification

sh-3.2# ./mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &

If the execution of the command is stopped, and the execution has been completed at this time,

press Enter directly, and then exit to exit:

sh-3.2# exit

4.Re-enter MySQL at this time, no -p parameter, no password

./mysql -u root

5.Select the database MySQL (here MySQL refers to a database in MySQL,

there are other databases in MySQL, you can view it through show databases;)

use mysql;

update user set authentication_string=‘123456’ where User='root';

Note: The password field here is authentication_string,

not the password circulated on the Internet.

It is estimated that MySQL was updated later.

Re-enter MySQL and use the password you just set, is it all right?

Because you have just set to bypass the authorization authentication,

you can log in to MySQL directly without a password.

My stupid way is to restart the computer and log in to MySQL with the password again to see if the modification is effective;

I am trying to change root password in my Ubuntu system.

This is what I did:

ashot@ashot-desktop:~$ sudo passwd root
passwd: Authentication token manipulation error
passwd: password unchanged

How do I change root password in Ubuntu?

asked May 13, 2013 at 18:26

Usually there is no need to set a root password. See: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

To set or change your (root) password:

sudo -i
passwd

To lock it again

sudo passwd -dl root

answered May 13, 2013 at 20:24

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When you use sudo your already accessing root you don’t have to specify root.

sudo passwd

If your trying to do this from recovery root you should:

mount -rw -o remount /
passwd

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answered Nov 15, 2013 at 5:34

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If ‘ashot’ is your root account, don’t call ‘sudo passwd’. I’ve been doing that for the past few months and it wouldn’t change my password.

To change my password, I had to call ‘passwd’ without ‘sudo’. Otherwise, the password modification is not taken account of.

answered Mar 23, 2015 at 22:01

passwd: Authentication token manipulation error
passwd: password unchanged

Try this steps;

— restart ubuntu, open it recovery mode
— drop root
— upgrade your ubuntu to a new version

This solved my problem, i hope it helps you too.

answered Aug 11, 2013 at 7:24

Possibly /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow don’t match.

Try to use command pwconv.

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answered Nov 7, 2013 at 21:54

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At first run this command:

sudo mysql

SELECT user,authentication_string,plugin,host FROM mysql.user;

now you can see something like this already :

+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------+
| user | authentication_string | plugin | host |
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------+
| root | | auth_socket | localhost |
| mysql.session | *THISISNOTAVALIDPASSWORDTHATCANBEUSEDHERE | mysql_native_password | localhost |
| mysql.sys | *THISISNOTAVALIDPASSWORDTHATCANBEUSEDHERE | mysql_native_password | localhost |
| debian-sys-maint | *CC744277A401A7D25BE1CA89AFF17BF607F876FF | mysql_native_password | localhost |
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------+

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'password';

Be sure to change password to a strong password of your choosing.
Then for reload your server to put your new changes into effect run this;

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

So again check the authentication methods which has employed by your mysql , by this command:

SELECT user,authentication_string,plugin,host FROM mysql.user;

and now the output is :

+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------+
| user | authentication_string | plugin | host |
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------+
| root | *3636DACC8616D997782ADD0839F92C1571D6D78F | mysql_native_password | localhost |
| mysql.session | *THISISNOTAVALIDPASSWORDTHATCANBEUSEDHERE | mysql_native_password | localhost |
| mysql.sys | *THISISNOTAVALIDPASSWORDTHATCANBEUSEDHERE | mysql_native_password | localhost |
| debian-sys-maint | *CC744277A401A7D25BE1CA89AFF17BF607F876FF | mysql_native_password | localhost |
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------+

as you can see in the grant table your root account has mysql_native_password
.
now you can exit MYSQL shell

exit;

That’s it.just you should restart mysql by sudo service mysql restart.
Now you can login to mysql as a root account with your password easily.

2. Stop the MySQL server if it is running. For a server
   that is running as a Windows service, go to the Services
   manager: From the menu, select
   , then
   , then
   . Find the MySQL
   service in the list and stop it.

   If your server is not running as a service, you may need
   to use the Task Manager to force it to stop.

3. Create a text file containing the password-assignment
   statement on a single line. Replace the password with
   the password that you want to use.

   ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';

4. Save the file. This example assumes that you name the
   file C:\mysql-init.txt.

5. Open a console window to get to the command prompt: From
   the menu, select
   , then enter
   as the command to be run.

6. Start the MySQL server with the
   init_file system
   variable set to name the file (notice that the backslash
   in the option value is doubled):

   C:\> cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin"
   C:\> mysqld --init-file=C:\\mysql-init.txt

   If you installed MySQL to a different location, adjust
   the command accordingly.

   To have server output to appear in the console window
   rather than in a log file, add the
   --console option to the
   command.

   If you installed MySQL using the MySQL Installation
   Wizard, you may need to specify a
   --defaults-file option.
   For example:

   C:\> mysqld --defaults-file="C:\\ProgramData\\MySQL\\MySQL Server 8.0\\my.ini" --init-file=C:\\mysql-init.txt

   The appropriate
   --defaults-file setting
   can be found using the Services Manager: From the
   menu, select
   , then
   , then
   . Find the MySQL
   service in the list, right-click it, and choose the
   Properties option. The Path
to executable field contains the
   --defaults-file setting.

7. After the server has started successfully, delete
   C:\mysql-init.txt.

You should now be able to connect to the MySQL server as
root using the new password. Stop the
MySQL server and restart it normally. If you run the server
as a service, start it from the Windows Services window. If
you start the server manually, use whatever command you
normally use.

B.3.3.2 How to Reset the Root Password

If you have never assigned a root password
for MySQL, the server does not require a password at all for
connecting as root. However, this is
insecure. For instructions on assigning a password, see
Section 2.9.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”.

B.3.3.2.1 Resetting the Root Password: Windows Systems

2. Stop the MySQL server if it is running. For a server
   that is running as a Windows service, go to the Services
   manager: From the menu, select
   , then
   , then
   . Find the MySQL
   service in the list and stop it.

   If your server is not running as a service, you may need
   to use the Task Manager to force it to stop.

3. Create a text file containing the password-assignment
   statement on a single line. Replace the password with
   the password that you want to use.

   ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';

4. Save the file. This example assumes that you name the
   file C:\mysql-init.txt.

5. Open a console window to get to the command prompt: From
   the menu, select
   , then enter
   as the command to be run.

6. Start the MySQL server with the
   init_file system
   variable set to name the file (notice that the backslash
   in the option value is doubled):

   C:\> cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin"
   C:\> mysqld --init-file=C:\\mysql-init.txt

   If you installed MySQL to a different location, adjust
   the command accordingly.

   To have server output to appear in the console window
   rather than in a log file, add the
   --console option to the
   command.

   If you installed MySQL using the MySQL Installation
   Wizard, you may need to specify a
   --defaults-file option.
   For example:

   C:\> mysqld --defaults-file="C:\\ProgramData\\MySQL\\MySQL Server 8.0\\my.ini" --init-file=C:\\mysql-init.txt

   The appropriate
   --defaults-file setting
   can be found using the Services Manager: From the
   menu, select
   , then
   , then
   . Find the MySQL
   service in the list, right-click it, and choose the
   Properties option. The Path
to executable field contains the
   --defaults-file setting.

7. After the server has started successfully, delete
   C:\mysql-init.txt.

You should now be able to connect to the MySQL server as
root using the new password. Stop the
MySQL server and restart it normally. If you run the server
as a service, start it from the Windows Services window. If
you start the server manually, use whatever command you
normally use.

B.3.3.2.2 Resetting the Root Password: Unix and Unix-Like Systems

2. Stop the MySQL server if it is running. Locate the
   .pid file that contains the
   server’s process ID. The exact location and name of this
   file depend on your distribution, host name, and
   configuration. Common locations are
   /var/lib/mysql/,
   /var/run/mysqld/, and
   /usr/local/mysql/data/. Generally,
   the file name has an extension of
   .pid and begins with either
   mysqld or your system’s host name.

   $> kill `cat /mysql-data-directory/host_name.pid`

   Use backticks (not forward quotation marks) with the
   cat command. These cause the output
   of cat to be substituted into the
   kill command.

3. Create a text file containing the password-assignment
   statement on a single line. Replace the password with
   the password that you want to use.

   ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';

5. Start the MySQL server with the
   init_file system
   variable set to name the file:

   $> mysqld --init-file=/home/me/mysql-init &

   Other options may be necessary as well, depending on how
   you normally start your server. For example,
   --defaults-file may be
   needed before the
   init_file argument.

6. After the server has started successfully, delete
   /home/me/mysql-init.

You should now be able to connect to the MySQL server as
root using the new password. Stop the
server and restart it normally.

B.3.3.2.3 Resetting the Root Password: Generic Instructions

The preceding sections provide password-resetting
instructions specifically for Windows and Unix and Unix-like
systems. Alternatively, on any platform, you can reset the
password using the client (but this
approach is less secure):

2. Connect to the MySQL server using the
   client; no password is
   necessary because the server was started with
   --skip-grant-tables:

   $> mysql

3. In the mysql client, tell the server
   to reload the grant tables so that account-management
   statements work:

   mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

   mysql> ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';

You should now be able to connect to the MySQL server as
root using the new password. Stop the
server and restart it normally (without the
--skip-grant-tables option
and without enabling the
skip_networking system
variable).

B.3.3.2 How to Reset the Root Password

If you have never assigned a root password
for MySQL, the server does not require a password at all for
connecting as root. However, this is
insecure. For instructions on assigning a password, see
Section 2.9.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”.

B.3.3.2.1 Resetting the Root Password: Windows Systems

2. Stop the MySQL server if it is running. For a server
   that is running as a Windows service, go to the Services
   manager: From the menu, select
   , then
   , then
   . Find the MySQL
   service in the list and stop it.

   If your server is not running as a service, you may need
   to use the Task Manager to force it to stop.

3. Create a text file containing the password-assignment
   statement on a single line. Replace the password with
   the password that you want to use.

   ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';

4. Save the file. This example assumes that you name the
   file C:\mysql-init.txt.

5. Open a console window to get to the command prompt: From
   the menu, select
   , then enter
   as the command to be run.

6. Start the MySQL server with the
   init_file system
   variable set to name the file (notice that the backslash
   in the option value is doubled):

   C:\> cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.7\bin"
   C:\> mysqld --init-file=C:\\mysql-init.txt

   If you installed MySQL to a different location, adjust
   the command accordingly.

   To have server output to appear in the console window
   rather than in a log file, add the
   --console option to the
   command.

   If you installed MySQL using the MySQL Installation
   Wizard, you may need to specify a
   --defaults-file option.
   For example:

   C:\> mysqld --defaults-file="C:\\ProgramData\\MySQL\\MySQL Server 5.7\\my.ini" --init-file=C:\\mysql-init.txt

   The appropriate
   --defaults-file setting
   can be found using the Services Manager: From the
   menu, select
   , then
   , then
   . Find the MySQL
   service in the list, right-click it, and choose the
   Properties option. The Path
to executable field contains the
   --defaults-file setting.

7. After the server has started successfully, delete
   C:\mysql-init.txt.

You should now be able to connect to the MySQL server as
root using the new password. Stop the
MySQL server and restart it normally. If you run the server
as a service, start it from the Windows Services window. If
you start the server manually, use whatever command you
normally use.

UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string = PASSWORD('MyNewPass'), password_expired = 'N' WHERE User = 'root' AND Host = 'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

B.3.3.2.2 Resetting the Root Password: Unix and Unix-Like Systems

2. Stop the MySQL server if it is running. Locate the
   .pid file that contains the
   server’s process ID. The exact location and name of this
   file depend on your distribution, host name, and
   configuration. Common locations are
   /var/lib/mysql/,
   /var/run/mysqld/, and
   /usr/local/mysql/data/. Generally,
   the file name has an extension of
   .pid and begins with either
   mysqld or your system’s host name.

   $> kill `cat /mysql-data-directory/host_name.pid`

   Use backticks (not forward quotation marks) with the
   cat command. These cause the output
   of cat to be substituted into the
   kill command.

3. Create a text file containing the password-assignment
   statement on a single line. Replace the password with
   the password that you want to use.

   ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';

5. Start the MySQL server with the
   init_file system
   variable set to name the file:

   $> mysqld --init-file=/home/me/mysql-init &

   Other options may be necessary as well, depending on how
   you normally start your server. For example,
   --defaults-file may be
   needed before the
   init_file argument.

6. After the server has started successfully, delete
   /home/me/mysql-init.

You should now be able to connect to the MySQL server as
root using the new password. Stop the
server and restart it normally.

UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string = PASSWORD('MyNewPass'), password_expired = 'N' WHERE User = 'root' AND Host = 'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

B.3.3.2.3 Resetting the Root Password: Generic Instructions

The preceding sections provide password-resetting
instructions specifically for Windows and Unix and Unix-like
systems. Alternatively, on any platform, you can reset the
password using the client (but this
approach is less secure):

2. Connect to the MySQL server using the
   client; no password is
   necessary because the server was started with
   --skip-grant-tables:

   $> mysql

3. In the mysql client, tell the server
   to reload the grant tables so that account-management
   statements work:

   mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

   mysql> ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MyNewPass';

You should now be able to connect to the MySQL server as
root using the new password. Stop the
server and restart it normally (without the
--skip-grant-tables option
and without enabling the
skip_networking system
variable).

UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string = PASSWORD('MyNewPass')
WHERE User = 'root' AND Host = 'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;