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Reset the root password

Change your Victus VPS root password from inside the machine, or reset it from the panel or rescue mode if you are locked out.

root passwordresetpasswdlocked outrescue

You should change the auto-generated root password after your first login, and you may need to reset it if you forget it. There are three routes depending on whether you can still get in.

You can still log in (recommended)

If you have an active SSH session, changing the password is a one-liner. Run passwd and enter the new password twice.

bash
passwd
# Enter new password:
# Retype new password:
# passwd: password updated successfully

Use a strong password

Root is exposed to the whole internet on port 22. Use a long random passphrase, or better, disable password login entirely and use an SSH key.

You are locked out — reset from the panel

  1. 1Log in to control.victuscloud.com and open the VPS.
  2. 2Go to the VPS Settings view and use the "reset / set root password" action.
  3. 3Enter a new password (or generate one) and apply it.
  4. 4The VPS agent applies the change on the running machine; reconnect over SSH with the new password within a minute or two.

Last resort — rescue mode

If the panel reset is unavailable, boot the VPS into rescue mode, mount the root filesystem and set the password with chroot. See the "Boot into rescue mode" article for the full procedure; the key step is:

bash
# After mounting your disk at /mnt in rescue mode
mount /dev/vda1 /mnt        # your root partition may differ
chroot /mnt
passwd root
exit

Changing the disk device

On KVM the primary disk is usually /dev/vda and the root partition /dev/vda1. Run lsblk first to confirm the correct device before mounting.

Related in VPS

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