Resetting the root password

How to generate a new root password from the panel, which conditions must be met, and what the errors mean.

The “Reset password” button sets a new password for the server's root user without asking for the old one. You'll find it on the server card, on the “My Servers” page of the app.blackbox.md panel (app.blackbox.md/my-servers, left menu “Infrastructure” → “My Servers”).

Available to: the owner of the blackbox.md account that ordered the server, or an account that BLACKBOX has given management rights to the server. The button does not appear on cards with the “Managed” badge.

The blackbox.md website is available in Romanian and Russian; this article quotes the Romanian labels with their English meaning.

Note This is the server's root password, not your blackbox.md account password. You change your account password separately: Changing your account password.

How to reset the root password

Sign in to the panel (see Opening the app.blackbox.md panel from your account) and open “My Servers” from the left menu.
On the server card, click “Reset password”. When you hover over the button, the tooltip “Generate a new root password over SSH” appears.
Your browser asks you to confirm: “Reset the password for SERVER_NAME? The current password stops working immediately.”, where SERVER_NAME is the name shown on the card. Click “OK”. If you cancel, nothing changes.
Wait for the result: it can take up to 30 seconds. During this time the button is inactive.
A box with “Username” (root) and “Password” (the new password) appears on the card, above the buttons. There is no separate success message.
Copy the password into your password manager. The box has no copy button and disappears when you reload the page.

From this moment on, the old password no longer works. The new password stays saved in the panel: you can view it at any time with “Reveal credentials” (Showing root credentials).

The password has 20 random characters: uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, - and _. Select it with the mouse from the first character to the last: a double-click may select only part of it if the password contains -.

How it works and what conditions must be met

The panel connects to the server over SSH as root with the BLACKBOX management key (“Management key (blackbox.md)”) and sets the new password. The reset succeeds only if:

the server is running and responds to SSH on port 22;
“Management key (blackbox.md)” is still in /root/.ssh/authorized_keys (see BLACKBOX keys on your server);
the SSH configuration allows root to log in with a key: PermitRootLogin prohibit-password is fine, while with PermitRootLogin no the panel cannot connect;
the firewall on the server (ufw or firewalld) does not restrict port 22 to specific IP addresses.

The reset changes only the password. Installed SSH keys and the password login setting stay as they are.

“Key-only” servers

Warning On a server with the “Key-only” badge, the reset changes the root password, but SSH logins still require a key: the new password is not accepted over SSH. The panel does not warn you about this.

The password becomes usable over SSH only after you click “Enable password login” on the same card: Enabling and disabling SSH password login. If you have lost your private key, follow the steps in Lost access to your server (password or key).

Limit: 3 resets in 5 minutes

From the panel you can make at most 3 resets in 5 minutes for the whole account, across all servers combined. Every confirmed attempt counts, including failed ones and those rejected because of the limit. When you go over the limit, the message “Rate limit exceeded — password reset is limited to 3 requests per 5 minutes” appears. Wait 5 minutes without clicking the button again, then try again.

Errors

Message	What it means	What to do
`reset_failed`	The panel could not connect to the server, or the management key was refused. Nothing has changed: the old password still works.	Check the server with the steps below and try again.
`reset_persist_failed`	The password on the server was changed, but the panel could not save it. The old password no longer works.	Write to support immediately.
`reset_partial_failure_check_redis`	Same as above: the password on the server changed, but the panel did not save it.	Write to support immediately.
“Rate limit exceeded — password reset is limited to 3 requests per 5 minutes”	The limit of 3 resets in 5 minutes was exceeded.	Wait 5 minutes without trying again.
“Not found”	The server is no longer linked to your account (for example, it was deleted) or you no longer have management rights to it.	Reload the page. If the server still appears, write to us.
“Failed to reset password.” or other technical text	Another error, for example the connection to the panel dropped.	Reload the page, click “Reveal credentials” and try to connect with the password shown. If that doesn't work, try the reset again.

Important If you get reset_persist_failed or reset_partial_failure_check_redis, write immediately to support@blackbox.md or open a support ticket from “Contul meu” (My account) → “Ajutor și suport” (Help and support). Include the order number (BBX-…), the IP address and the error code, but no passwords. Until we reply, you can connect with an installed SSH key.

If you get `reset_failed`

Check whether the server responds to SSH. Run this on your computer:
```
ssh root@SERVER_IP
```
If it asks for a password, lets you in with your key, or replies “Permission denied”, the server is responding. If you get no response at all, the server may be stopped: click “Start” on the card, wait a little and try the reset again (Rebooting, stopping and starting a server).
If you can log in to the server (as root, or as another user and then sudo -i), check the effective value of PermitRootLogin:
```
sshd -T | grep -i permitrootlogin
```
The values prohibit-password, without-password (the old name of the same setting) and yes are fine. If you see no, find the file where the setting is written (lines that start with # don't count):
```
grep -ri permitrootlogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/
```
Change no to prohibit-password there. Keep your current session open, check the configuration (if sshd -t prints nothing, it is correct), and only then reload SSH:
```
sshd -t
systemctl reload ssh || systemctl reload sshd
```
If you have set up a firewall on the server, check the rules for port 22. On Ubuntu and Debian:
```
ufw status
```
On AlmaLinux and CentOS Stream:
```
firewall-cmd --list-all
```
If SSH is allowed only from specific IP addresses, the panel cannot connect: open port 22 to any address again. Details: Firewall: network filtering and ufw/firewalld on the server.
On the card, click “Add SSH key” and look at the “Installed keys” list. It must include “Management key (blackbox.md)”. If the list does not load or the key is missing, write to support so we can restore it.
If the server responds but the error keeps coming back, write to support with the order number and the IP address.

After the reset

Update the password everywhere you have saved it: in your password manager, in your SSH and SFTP client profiles (for example PuTTY, WinSCP, FileZilla), and in scripts and services that connect as root.
The password from the “Serverul dvs. este gata — BBX-…” (Your server is ready — BBX-…) email is no longer valid.
SSH sessions that are already open stay active; the new password is required the next time you connect.

Frequently asked questions

Can I choose the new password myself? No, the panel generates it automatically. If you then change it on the server with passwd, the panel won't know, and “Reveal credentials” will keep showing the generated password.

I changed the password with passwd and forgot it. What do I do? Click “Reset password”: the panel doesn't need the current password. After the reset, the password in the panel and the one on the server match again.

I deleted the management key. Can I still reset the password? Usually not. Without the key, the panel tries the root password it has saved, and that works only if SSH password login is enabled and the password has not been changed on the server. Otherwise you get reset_failed. Write to support so we can restore the key: without it, key management from the panel doesn't work either.

Why don't I see the “Reset password” button? The card has the “Managed” badge: the server is managed by the BLACKBOX team, and you can only view it. For a new password, write to support.

Can I reset the password through an AI assistant? Yes. The API token needs the “Vizualizează parolele/accesul serverelor” (View server passwords/access) permission (servers:credentials); the assistant uses the reset_server_password tool, with the same conditions as the button in the panel. See List of MCP tools.