linux - change shell of a user from /bin/false to another

07
2014-07
  • guilin 桂林

    I made a mistake of change the root shell to /bin/false, but when I want to change it back, I always got error

    sudo chsh -s /bin/bash root
[sudo] password: <input current user password>
password: <input root password>
chsh: PAM: Authentication failure
    • Answers
  • xuhdev

    You can modify the file /etc/passwd if chsh doesn't work, by replacing the line

    root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/false

    to

    root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
  • AlexKing

    Try:

    sudo vigr

    In the editor, change root's shell back to /bin/bash (It should be the last field on the first line)


    • Related Question

    Ubuntu: Accidentally changed root user to nonexistent shell
  • endolith

    I tried to change my user's shell, but used "sudo chsh", and changed the root shell to "bash" instead of "/bin/bash". Now when I try to change it I get "chsh: PAM authentication failed" and it seems like other things aren't working, either.

    ~$ sudo su
Cannot execute bash: No such file or directory

    This happens with recovery mode, too. What do I do to change it to something usable?


    • Related Answers
  • Bjarke Freund-Hansen

    If you are able to login using your regular user, just change the root users shell directly:

    sudo gedit /etc/passwd

    Find the line for you root user, usually the first one, and change the last part from

    ...:bash

    to

    ...:/bin/bash

    And you should be good to go.

    (NB: Replace gedit with whatever editor you fancy.)

  • JRT

    Use the Ubuntu install disk to boot the live session.

    Mount the root ('/') partition on the harddisk (make sure it's writable).

    edit '[HD mount point]/etc/passwd' (eg /media/sda1/etc/passwd),

    root should be the first line, just correct the login shell which will be the last entry on the line.

    Unmount harddisk. Remove CD. Reboot