$ su -
Password:
su: Password for user 'root' has expired - use passwd(1) to update it

But even in single user mode, trying to reset the passwd or 'passwd -x
-1 root' fails with Permission denied.

What's the simplest fix? I've seen boot from CD and edit /etc/shadow
proposed, but no exact details...

toby wrote:
> $ su -
> Password:
> su: Password for user 'root' has expired - use passwd(1) to update it
>
> But even in single user mode, trying to reset the passwd or 'passwd -x
> -1 root' fails with Permission denied.

Don't try system repairs too late at night :) - of course this was
after a "Failsafe" boot, which mounts its own self-contained system,
and is not able to mount an SVM mirrored root partition for
maintenance. Of course trying to use 'passwd' is pointless.

To get the mirrored system booted properly for maintenance, you can use
GRUB according to a tip from Darren Dunham (thanks):
http://slashdot.org/~toby/journal/159102



>
> What's the simplest fix? I've seen boot from CD and edit /etc/shadow
> proposed, but no exact details...