Question about root user in azure

Erwin Birdy 20

Hello, i have microsoft azure but i setup my vitrual machine and i needed to make a user it has no root perms how do i log in into the real root user and get access to my full vitrual machine and add, edit, delete and upload files outsides of /home/Erwin i have sftp and i cant upload or do anything the files outside form /home/Erwin my home folder it just says Permission access denied error code 3 so my question is how do i change my root password so i can login into root and do stuff in sftp i really need support as soon as possible it will really help 😁

Erwin Birdy 20 Reputation points

2023-07-26T12:56:48.8866667+00:00

can anybody help me?
Erwin Birdy 20 Reputation points

2023-07-26T13:05:04.59+00:00

@KapilAnanth-MSFT Maybe you can help me?
Prrudram-MSFT 23,211 Reputation points

2023-07-27T07:29:46.4766667+00:00
Hello @Erwin Birdy

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A platform.
In Azure Linux virtual machines, the root user is typically disabled by default for security reasons. Instead, you would have set up an administrator user during the VM creation process which will be user administrator account.
To regain access to that user and perform actions outside of the /home/Erwin directory, you can follow these steps:

1. Log in as the Administrator User:

Ensure you have the credentials of the administrator user that you set up during the virtual machine creation. This user should have Sudo privileges.
2. SSH into the Virtual Machine:

Use SSH to connect to your virtual machine as the administrator user. You can watch this video to understand how to get access to your VM through SSH.

3. Switch to Root User:

Once logged in as the administrator user, you can switch to the root user using the **sudo** command

sudo su

You will be prompted to enter the administrator user's password. After successful authentication, you will be logged in as the root user

4. Change Password:
If you wish to change the root password, you can do so using the passwd command:

passwd

Enter the new root password twice for confirmation.

5. Configure SFTP Access:

By default, SFTP may have restrictions on which directories you can access. To allow SFTP access to directories outside of directory, you need to modify the SSH server configuration.

Note: Modifying SSH server settings can be risky. Be cautious while making changes to the SSH configuration to avoid security risks.

a. Open the SSH server configuration file with a text editor (e.g., nano, vi, etc.)

b. Look for the "Subsystem" section that handles the SFTP settings. You need to find a line like this:

6. Restart SSH Service:

After making changes to the SSH server configuration, restart the SSH service to apply the changes.

sudo service ssh restart

Now, you should be able to log in as the root user using the new password you set and have SFTP access to the specified directory outside of /home/Erwin.

Always exercise caution when granting root access and modifying SSH server settings, as this can pose security risks if not done correctly. Make sure to follow security best practices and have a backup of your VM before making significant changes. If you are unsure about any step, it's best to seek assistance from an experienced system administrator or Azure support.

If this does answer your question, please accept it as the answer as a token of appreciation.
Erwin Birdy 20 Reputation points

2023-07-27T18:10:23.6466667+00:00

Hello it didnt work :( i tried it
Prrudram-MSFT 23,211 Reputation points

2023-07-28T06:59:52.2233333+00:00

@Erwin Birdy

Thanks for the update. Let's try to reset the password using the procedure mentioned here in this document

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/reset-password

If that doesn't work for any reason. I would recommend you open an azure support case. If you don't have the ability to open a technical support ticket, please let me know and I can help you further with this.

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Question about root user in azure