Recover forgotten iPhone root password

Submitted by Brian Gilbert on December 31, 2009 - 4:08pm
If your like me and changed your root password for security reasons after reading about exploits to Jailbroken iPhones, then you may have forgotten what you had changed the password to. Our objective is to get root write control to the file system so you can change the root password in /etc/master.passwd back to something that you know. This should be simple as all apps run as root. We do this by first installing iFile.
  1. Open up cydia
  2. Wait for it to do that "Loading data" bit and hope that it's loading something more than 'home' because you're just going to go straight to search.
  3. Search for a package called iFile.
  4. Install iFile.
  5. Once iFile is installed close cydia and open up iFile.
    iFile lets you browse, open, and maipulate files. This includes moving them.
  6. In iFile browse to the /etc directory (top left a few times, then find 'etc' and tap that).
  7. Once in /etc/ scroll down and tap on the file called 'master.passwd'.
  8. Select Text Viewer in the screen that pops up, then click the edit button.
  9. find the line that looks like root:UlGASB5XWDrOc:0:0::0:0:
  10. The part we need to edit to change your devices password is between root: and the first :0
  11. Next you want to generate a new password hash. You can do this with the perl function 'crypt'. If you've no idea what that is head over to Crypt Tool online . At that website you see a large text area with $str above it, and a one-line text input with $salt above it. $salt can be any two characters. In $str will be where you type your new password, go ahead and do that, and salt. Next click run.
  12. You should get a result like what you previous hash was, it should be without any special characters.
  13. Replace the text between root: and the first :0 with your generated hash. Be careful to copy it exactly.
  14. Click the Save button at the top of iFile screen, then Click the Done button.
Congratulations you successfully rooted your iPhone and changed the password (wasn't exactly hard was it).
Tags: 
iphone

Comments

Submitted by Lost boy on November 28, 2010 - 4:35am.

Thanks so much!

Submitted by dsfsd on January 6, 2011 - 3:49am.

thank you !

Submitted by Holbek on March 10, 2011 - 12:40am.

What do one do when the master.passwd file is empty?

Submitted by Brian Gilbert on March 22, 2011 - 11:34am.

What version of iOS do you have on your phone?

Submitted by waichun on March 28, 2011 - 1:12am.

what should i put in $salt?

Submitted by Brian Gilbert on April 18, 2011 - 7:10pm.

$salt can be any two characters.

Submitted by teo on April 20, 2011 - 7:54pm.

thanks! worked great!

Submitted by Scott on May 12, 2011 - 6:31am.

Thanks for the tutorial, but I can't seem to get it right. The only difference I see in my scenario is that there is a forward slash right after "root:", the 13 characters that have to be changed, and then on with the :0, etc. I tried both leaving and removing the "/" to no avail. I am trying to log in via FTP and can't get in. I am on an iPhone 2G running 3.1.3. Thanks for any help you can give.

Submitted by ANF on June 27, 2011 - 11:36pm.

Thanks!!!!!!

Submitted by Will on July 2, 2011 - 6:45am.

Thanks so much! This worked like a charm.

Submitted by Michael on October 19, 2011 - 5:00pm.

Hi i did what you said but when i log in with su in mobile terminal it still says wrog password am i doing something wrong? please email me please michael_viteazul@yahoo.com

Submitted by Tom on October 25, 2011 - 1:25am.

That is just excellent. You have provided some very usefule information here for us, thanks.
Recover deleted Iphone Messages

Submitted by Tom on October 26, 2011 - 12:46pm.

Recover deleted iphone messages

Submitted by Tom on November 24, 2011 - 5:00am.

Does this work on 4s?
Thanks
ItSupport Costs
Tom

Submitted by Saeid on April 17, 2012 - 10:35pm.

Thank you so much. it's work on iOS 5.0.1!

Submitted by Rifki on June 6, 2012 - 3:56pm.

Thanks this work,,
Great for you!!!

Submitted by Fox on November 3, 2012 - 2:58am.

Followed the steps, two times, even rebooted, still no joy... Ipad2 iOS 5.1.1