Hey everyone! Back again with another tech deep dive, this time tackling a common, yet potentially frustrating, problem: recovering a lost password for your Cisco ASR9000 router. This isn’t a task to take lightly; security is paramount. But sometimes, things happen. Let’s explore how to handle this situation responsibly and effectively.
Disclaimer: Accessing network devices without authorization is illegal and unethical. This information is provided for legitimate recovery purposes only, assuming you are the authorized administrator.
The methods described in the linked blog post (https://expertnabil.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/asr9001-password-recovery/) mainly focus on scenarios where you have console access to the router. This is crucial. Remotely accessing and attempting password recovery without proper authorization is highly discouraged.
Step 1. Power cycle (turn power off and then on back) the device and press break keys Fn + Break / Ctrl+Break…( The break is based on the terminal access application you using for console)
Step 2. The above action will place the router in ROMMON(ROM Monitor) mode
Step 3. rommon B1>confreg 0x142
Step 4. rommon B2> reset
Check which baud rate it is communicating now change your putty Baud rate to 9600 if needs to..
router con0/0/CPU0 is now available
Press RETURN to get started.
— Administrative User Dialog —
Step 5. After you press return Enter new login ID & password, confirm the new poassword
Enter root-system username: user <can be anything you want or based on your organization’s login or password creation conventions for example admin as username and Password123 as password).
Enter secret:
Enter secret again:
Step 6. After you save the new password, the configuration register automatically resets to the prior value (such as 0x102).
Step 7. Use the recently added login ID & password for privilege level access -> Save the new configuration
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:router# copy run start
Have you ever faced a similar situation? What strategies did you use for password recovery or prevention? Share your experiences and advice in the comments below!