TRY NOW
book meeting
BACK TO KB LIST

How to Reset Worker Root Password

KB ID: 4271
Product: Veeam Backup & Replication | 12.3 | 12.3.1 | 12.3.2 | 13
Published: 2022-01-07
Last Modified: 2026-07-16
mailbox
Get weekly article updates
By subscribing, you are agreeing to have your personal information managed in accordance with the terms of Veeam's Privacy Notice.

Cheers for trusting us with the spot in your mailbox!

Now you’re less likely to miss what’s been brewing in our knowledge base with this weekly digest

error icon

Oops! Something went wrong.

Please, try again later.

Purpose

This article documents how to set or reset the password for the root account on a Veeam Worker appliance. The Worker is a Rocky Linux-based virtual machine deployed as a backup infrastructure component by the following Veeam Plug-ins:

Setting the root password allows local login at the Worker's console to run commands for troubleshooting, either independently or when working with a Veeam Support engineer.

Solution

Worker Reboot Required
This procedure requires a reboot of the Worker appliance.
Ensure that no backup or restore jobs using this Worker are running before beginning.
  1. Open the console of the Worker VM through your virtualization platform's management interface, and reboot the appliance.
  2. As the VM boots, hold [Shift] or tap [ESC] to open the GRUB menu.
  3. When the GRUB menu appears, select the top entry and press the e key to edit the boot parameters.
edit
  1. Find the line that starts with linux
edit screen
  1. Press the End key on your keyboard to jump to the end of this line.
  2. At the end of the line, add: rd.break
  3. Press CTRL+X to boot with the modified parameters.
  4. The VM will now boot and enter emergency mode.
emergency mode
  1. Use the following commands to mount the system, chroot into it, and reset the password for the root account:
mount -o remount,rw /sysroot
chroot /sysroot
passwd root
exit
Screenshot showing an example of the preceeding commands to reset the root user password.
Example for user named admin.
  1. Once the password is updated successfully, reboot the Worker appliance.
reboot

If this KB article did not resolve your issue or you need further assistance with Veeam software, please create a Veeam Support Case.

To submit feedback regarding this article, please click this link: Send Article Feedback
To report a typo on this page, highlight the typo with your mouse and press CTRL + Enter.

Spelling error in text

Thank you!

Thank you!

Your feedback has been received and will be reviewed.

Oops! Something went wrong.

Please, try again later.

You have selected too large block!

Please try select less.

KB Feedback/Suggestion

This form is only for KB Feedback/Suggestions, if you need help with the software open a support case
By submitting, you are agreeing to have your personal information managed in accordance with the terms of Veeam's Privacy Notice.
Verify your email to continue your product download
We've sent a verification code to:
  • Incorrect verification code. Please try again.
An email with a verification code was just sent to
Didn't receive the code? Click to resend in sec
Didn't receive the code? Click to resend
Start using Veeam:
Download the product
&
Activate the license key
Thank you!

Thank you!

Your feedback has been received and will be reviewed.

error icon

Oops! Something went wrong.

Please, try again later.