Recovering from a lost password

Recovery from a lost password requires direct access to the serial port and a system reset.

NOTE
You can perform this procedure only from the CLI.

Follow the steps given below to recover from a lost password.

  1. Start a CLI session over the serial interface to the device.
  2. Reboot the device.
  3. At the initial boot prompt at system startup, enter b to enter the boot monitor mode.
  4. Enter no password at the prompt. (You cannot abbreviate this command.) This command will cause the device to bypass the system password check.
  5. Enter boot system flash primary at the prompt.
  6. After the console prompt reappears, assign a new password.