By default, the root account password is locked in Ubuntu - Canonical neither supports nor advocates enabling the root account. This means that you cannot login as root directly or use the su command to become the root user. However, since the root account physically exists it is still possible to run programs with root-level privileges.

Enabling the root account in ubuntu is rarely necessary. Almost everything you need to do as root of an Ubuntu system can be done via sudo or gksudo. If you really need a persistent root login, the best alternative is to simulate a root login shell using the following command... It is tested in ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala also.

Today I needed to reset a password on an Ubuntu system. While doing this, I was reminded of just how simple it is to get root access on a default install of Ubuntu. I wanted to share these steps on this blog to remind people that if someone has physical access to your Ubuntu system, they can get root access in just a few seconds.

One of the biggest security holes you could open on your server is to allow directly logging in as root through ssh, because any cracker can attempt to brute force your root password and potentially get access to your system if they can figure out your password.

If you are new to Ubuntu and have been using other distros like Fedora or openSUSE before, then you may find it frustrating that when you issue the "su" command it will result to authentication failure.By default, access to root account password is disabled in Ubuntu for added security measures.

Root is the default name for system administrator in a *NIX system - a super user who can do anything and everything within the operating system. As a result, root login should be used with special care. While working with a root login, we can end up doing a lot of harm to our system as well as the data, accidentally.

The Ubuntu system requires you to login as an administrative user to be able to execute commands that only root can execute. However, you can alter the system to allow root to login to perform hours of administration as root. This eliminates the requirement of typing the full path for commands.

This guide explains how you can reset a forgotten root password with the help of the Knoppix Linux Live-CD. Afterwards you can log in to your system as root again.

If you have forgotten the root password of a system, you can very easily reset it with a live CD
Any live Linux cd from standard Linux distros such a ubuntu , knoppix etc can be used.