Change the Root Password

You can change the root password for any
VMware Aria Operations
primary or data node at any time by using the console.
Verify that the root password for the appliance meets your organization’s corporate password complexity requirements. If the account password starts with
$6$
, it uses a sha512 hash. This is the standard hash for all hardened appliances.
The root user passes the
pam_pwquality
module password complexity check, which is found in
/etc/pam.d/system-password
. All hardened appliances activate
enforce_for_root
for the
pam_pwquality
module, found in the
/etc/pam.d/system-password
file. The system remembers the last five passwords by default. Old passwords are stored for each user in the
/etc/security/opasswd
file.
  1. Run the
    # passwd
    command at the root shell of the appliance.
  2. To verify the hash of the root password, log in as root and run the
    # more /etc/shadow
    command.
    The hash information appears.
  3. If the root password does not contain a sha512 hash, run the
    passwd
    command to change it.