If you have "lost your password" and would swear you didn't change it, you have been using for months or years, and suddenly it is not working, you got hacked mate.
Do not pain, as long as you don't dual boot, you can tell the hackers to GTFO: All you need to do is to locate the vmlinuz call in the GRUB entry (maintain the SHIFT key if it doesn't appear automatically), press e to edit the main Linux Kernel linux (the first by default), and simply change the line that says: linux /boot/vmlinuz-.....(letters and numbers) ro quiet splash TO linux /boot/vmlinuz-.....(letters and numbers) rw init=/bin/bash
press Ctrl+X or F10. --------------------------------------------------------
Now you should have a bash shell, just in case, if you aren't root yet, just do: su - and now write "passwd". Write your password twice, then reboot.
this would stop the OS from booting lad, what do you gain from tricking idiots into breaking their OS?
Brandon Morris
You're not original or funny
Connor Johnson
No, the OS will keep booting, I am living proof of that, however, all your content and data, which is probably inside a folder inside your $HOME, won't be accessible, and keep in mind, you're still connected to the internet... get it?
Owen Mitchell
I get it, you're trying to make people brick their installs
Daniel Myers
what vulnerability did they use? if op doesn't answer then he is a fag.
I have no idea, I have some ideas and leads, but that's it, sorry. I'm not shilling not being payed for this nor I want people to brick their GRUB. I'm just trying to help how to get back your computer if it's have been/is suddenly denying access as root to your own computer and you know you haven't changed the password.
(You) can sanitize your PPAs maybe, in any case, they system got the wheel (user/group) of users also changed so sudo (that's why I am using "su -" ) wouldn't work.
It's sadly happening, hacking the very own Linux kernel, and I guess, these are just baby steps. That's the bottom line.
if you really want to help, why don't you say why one should change the line? Like, what is effectively changing about the startup when you do that?
Carter Lee
>I want to help >doesn't mention what the actual problem is
Lucas Hughes
For the last time, in case your $USER password (which is in most of the times the same as root thanks our "friend" sudo) stopped working for no reason at all, and you as a human being are sure you have not changed it, at some point, with all the updates released since the year 2018 started, it got changed. If it was a hack, some code filtered, the reason behind it, I do not know. I am just trying to explain how ALL these users thought they had no option to reinstall because they couldn't gain root privileges-yet, the machine is theirs. It's too soon for theorists guys.
How to "fix" the problem for now, I already explained in the first thread, not very elegantly, but who cares, it's so easy to figure it out that that's the reason I think this is just (as they said) the tip of the iceberg.
Carter Brown
you're expecting people to modify system more specifically boot files, you've given no proof there is even a problem and you haven't explained how your solution works
Jaxson Hall
I'm on step four because I don't feel like searching for my password on a piece of paper I have in my possession. Thought it would save me time just to reset the darn thing. So after step four, do I need the dash after 'vmlinuz'? Thanks in advance.
Alexander Long
I'm expecting people to know what to do the next times this happens.
"my solution" ignores some font and virtual machine flags at init that we don't care, to just be as straight as possible and specify the kernel to give me a RW BASH shell so I can reestablish my $USER/root password again without breaking my system/filesystem. Believe it or not I am just trying to help the next time your login manager(implying you use one) will ask for your password and will not work.
Mason Walker
but you've given nothing to even indicate this will be a problem for anyone
Ryder Allen
You do realize anyone smart enough to execute these steps won't be dumb enough to actually do it right?
Dominic Martinez
Anybody?
Asher Cook
you shouldn't do this, it'll break your os
Kevin Moore
Uh...Sup Forumsuys...this looks strange on my end.
Aiden Watson
why did you post this, i wanted ubuntufags to have another reason to not use it
Andrew Morgan
>rw init=/bin/bash this is a well documented "tip" on how to get root when you have physical accesss to the computer.
However, most if not all of us, encrypt the partition so the data is safe or lost, depending on how much you forgot your password.
Is it possible to save my home folder, and use it on an entirely different distro without losing my files?
Josiah James
This thread is shit. OP gives instructions how to change root password from grub. That does not break anything. If you do those changes from grub, no boot files are changed on disk.
But what is this "hack" op is talking about? How does changing your root password help if you are already pwned? And what does this pwngig has to do with ubuntu? Some vulnerability? There are vulnerabilities all the time. There has always been.
Daniel Carter
how is OP posting bait?
if nobody's password changed, there's no reason to do what he said.
so nobody is going to do it, unless they really were hacked.
Jesus fuck look at this thread. The absolute state of Sup Forums.
Carson Hall
Sup Forums 2018 everybody
Christopher Ortiz
This is honestly one of the worst threads I've ever seen in my life. The OP should be ashamed for damaging the image of an already questionable Burmese fishing forum.
It's not specific enough. Just a vague claim that "some Ubuntu distros are affected by a hack" and that his passwd got changed somehow. No affected packages, no code, no proof nothing. For all we know someone in OP's house is pranking him. This is the kind of shit you would see from an IT ticket submitted by a 60 year old secretary who is clueless about computers.
