As I was following through the introduction to Cloud-Config Scripting, I noticed there were no examples of tasks that I usually use on Linux machines.
Is it possible to change the root password with cloud-init?
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Accepted Answer
Hi there,
Yes, this should be doable with the following:
#cloud-config
chpasswd:
list: |
root:your_secure_password_here
expire: False
Hope that this helps! Best, Bobby
Yes, you can use cloud-init to change the root password, but you need to be cautious about doing so for security reasons. If you’re setting this on a public cloud or a place where the cloud-config is visible, it’s generally not recommended to hardcode passwords in the cloud-config due to security concerns. Instead, it’s better to use SSH key-based authentication.
That said, if you are in a controlled environment where this makes sense, you can use the chpasswd and ssh_pwauth modules.
Here’s an example cloud-config:
#cloud-config
chpasswd:
list: |
root:<YOUR_NEW_PASSWORD>
expire: False
ssh_pwauth: True
Replace <YOUR_NEW_PASSWORD> with your desired root password.
-
The
chpasswdsection sets passwords for specified users. Theexpireoption, when set toFalse, means the password won’t be forced to change on the next login. -
The
ssh_pwauthoption allows password authentication via SSH. If you’re enabling the root password, you might want to control if SSH password authentication is permitted. In most cases, for security, password authentication via SSH should be disabled.
Again, I can’t stress this enough: be very cautious with this, especially in public or multi-tenant environments. The safest approach is to disable root login altogether and use sudo-enabled users for administrative tasks.
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