Effective Root Password Recovery in RHEL 9

Author: Karthi S

In RHEL systems, administrators can regain access by editing GRUB boot options and booting into a shell to reset the root password. RHEL 9 changes mean init=/bin/bash is often the more straightforward method compared to rd.break.

Updated RHEL 9 password reset process

1. Press e to edit GRUB.
2. Change ro to rw in the linux line.
3. Append init=/bin/bash.
4. Press Ctrl+x to boot.
5. Run passwd to reset the password.
6. Run touch /.autorelabel.
7. Run exec /sbin/init.

Method A (init=/bin/bash)

1. Grub → e
2. init=/bin/bash (remove rhgb and quiet if necessary) → Ctrl+x
3. /usr/sbin/load_policy -i
4. mount -o remount,rw /
5. passwd root
6. mount -o remount,ro /

Method B (rd.break)

1. Grub → e
2. rd.break → Ctrl+x
3. mount -o remount,rw /sysroot/
4. chroot /sysroot/
5. passwd root
6. touch /.autorelabel

These steps align with modern RHEL 9 boot and SELinux behavior.