Password Recovery

[michael-montgomery]

Is there any way to keep the current config and still recover the password on a 2600 router? Just in case there was a guru out there with a secret.......

Thanks in advance!

[thisisshanky]

When you do a password recovery, you are not changing the current configuration. Password recovery procedure, only bypasses the configuration, that needs to be loaded into ram. And before recovering the password, you need to first copy the config file from NVRAM TO DRAM. and then change the password.

If there was a procedure to do it with the current-config kept as such as......then that procedure wouldnt have remained secret.....

[michael-montgomery]

So basically no then? I would assume this would be a breach of security..right?

[thisisshanky · Accepted solution]

As far as I know.....there isnt another method to recover the password.

As far as security breach is concerned.....Password recovery can be disabled using a hidden undocumented command,

config)#no service password-recovery

Hope that helps!

[michael-montgomery]

Thank you....

[kgbsd]

Wouldn't you be totally screwed if you did this and lost hte password??

[thisisshanky]

When you enable that command, it shows a message,

Router(config)# no service password-recovery

WARNING:

Executing this command will disable password recovery mechanism.

Do not execute this command without another plan for

password recovery.

Are you sure you want to continue? [yes/no]: no

Router(config)#

So this should be used, only if you are sure that you dont lose your password ever. Thats the reason, why, the command is also undocumented.