Resetting root password in vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.x

 Symptoms 

• The root account password of VMware vCenter Server Appliance fails
• The root account of the vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 and above is locked or account is expired
• The root account password has been lost or forgotten

Below Find the steps to reset a lost, forgotten, or expired root password for a vCenter Server Appliance (or external PSC) 6.5 and later.

Process to Reset the Root Password

1. Take a snapshot or backup of the vCenter Server Appliance before proceeding.

Caution: Do not skip this step

Note: If the vCenter Appliance is on the same ESXi hosts it manages. Connect directly to the ESXi host that it is located on to perform these steps.

2. Reboot the vCenter Server Appliance.
3. After the VCSA Photon OS starts, press the e key to enter the GNU GRUB Edit Menu.
4. Locate the line that begins with the word Linux.
5. Append these entries to the end of the line:
   
   rw init=/bin/bash
   
   The line should look like the following screenshot:
   
   
    
6. Press F10 to continue booting.
7. Run the command  

mount -o remount,rw / 

8. In the Command prompt, enter the command passwd and provide a new root password (twice for confirmation):

passwd

 

9. Unmount the filesystem by running this command (yes, the unmount command is umount  -  it's not a spelling error):

umount /

 

10. Reboot the vCenter Server Appliance by running this command:

reboot -f

 

11. Confirm that you can access the vCenter Server Appliance using the new root password.
12. Remove the snapshot taken in Step 1 if applicable.
13. You could set the Root password to never expire in order to prevent this issue by running command:         # chage -I -1 -m 0 -M 99999 -E -1 root                                                                or
14. At the VAMI  ( https://<vcenter_fqdn>:5480)

For 7.0U1 and 6.7P03 there are a few changes:

1. The Root user will be prompted for resetting the password when they try to SSH to the machine if expired or expiring.
2. You can also login to VAMI using the SSO administrator and reset the root password from there.
3. Email notification is sent earlier to prevent from having the Root password expired.
4. An alarm will be triggered in vsphere-ui to notify the user about the password expiry.