SLC --- I remember reading about it from several sources.

@alirz
I would suggest Lede. The latest Busybox version made changes that have to be taken care of and openwrt does not seem to address the issues or update anymore.
I know this is not the place for this post but at least the Lede developers are addressing issues quickly.
Since you are probably going to start from scratch you may as well use an active branch that is moving and stable.
Just my 2 cents worth.

(Last edited by northbound on 27 Sep 2016, 23:13)

Thanks. I'll try it one day. I've gone through so many various branches of fw for this router that im not sold on any new branch anymore. ive gone through AA, MCWRT, CC, and now this LEDE. Cant believe development for this router hasnt come to an end with a final release for good!

(Last edited by alirz on 27 Sep 2016, 23:34)

Anyone ever had issues setting the password for Luci(root)?
I just flashed a new build, luci keeps telling me that no password is it. I keep trying to set but it just keeps looping between the same pages...
i've tried different browsers etc
sometimes i get this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/98grdfwelni78mb/password.PNG

(Last edited by alirz on 27 Sep 2016, 23:34)

@alirz Did you crop out the SSH settings by chance?  Perhaps you're using OpenSSH instead of DropBear (as I'm not sure if OpenSSH uses the same spot in LuCI for SSH configuration)?  If you are using DropBear, and didn't crop it out, perhaps there's some issues in the file system or with permissions.

Can you set the password via the passwd command via cli?

(Last edited by JW0914 on 28 Sep 2016, 02:21)

@alirz

That happens randomly for me too.

I've settled on Gargoyle builds.

https://mega.nz/#F!7A0xFZJY!As3Zmj2fXNFa2QBaXPExKw

First password is " password "

(Last edited by mojolacerator on 28 Sep 2016, 02:19)

Yes I am using openssh and not dropbear. I don't even have dropbear as part of my build.
You think that is preventing me from changing the router password from luci?

(Last edited by alirz on 28 Sep 2016, 02:38)

Which part happens to you too randomly?

No, sorry, I should have better articulated:

I've never used OpenSSH, so I wasn't sure if OpenSSH's configuration in LuCI was on the same administration page DropBear's is on.  I'm assuming it's not since you're using OpenSSH.

I was stating if you were using DropBear, and you didn't crop out it's configuration, that would indicate an issue in the file system [doesn't apply since you're using OpenSSH].

I'm assuming you made a change to the BusyBox options?  Certain BusyBox options will cause BusyBox to fail to build, such as regex support. 

• My hunch is it's due to selecting regex support [Enable regex in search and replace], as the only three I don't have selected are that, 8 bit characters, and ed

After the first few times it occurred when I first began building my own images, I became quite attentive to ensuring I didn't customize any BusyBox options until last, changing options a category at a time, making note of what I modified, building an image, ensuring it builds, then moving on to the next category and repeating.  Once all the categories have built successfully, I make a copy of the BusyBox portion of the config and store it with read only permissions to ensure I don't have to go through the hassle again.

(Last edited by JW0914 on 28 Sep 2016, 02:47)

Thanks. So yes you are correct I have no configuration for open ssh in luci.
So on my so called "stable" build  that I have been using for several months, I just tried and I cannot even change the password  there. There is something really messed up.
If I do a factory reset, I run into the same problem, luci won't let me set a passed, thus I don't get ssh access without a password and the that's the loop.

As for the failing build, yes I did modify some options for busybox and if I recall correctly, it was indeed Regex  support . Thanks for that tip. I'll test a build without that.

@alirz  For future reference, once you get everything up and running again and have set your password, copy /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow into your <buildroot>/files/etc folder.  This will build an image with your current password already set.

Also, [you can telnet in when no password has been set via port 23] (see replies by @nitroshift and @sera below) you can ssh in when no root password has been set.  This would allow you to see if the passwd command will set a password or not, and to verify the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files have correct permissions set [664 and 600, respectively].

(Last edited by JW0914 on 28 Sep 2016, 14:37)

@JW0914

Telnet access is deprecated and has been replaced with passwordless ssh.

nitroshift

@alirz

JW0914 is on the money, CONFIG_BUSYBOX_CONFIG_FEATURE_VI_REGEX_SEARCH is not compatible with musl as it uses gnu extensions not available.

@northbound

How can a bump to an unstable busybox version that didn't happen require additional changes? Is this particular issue addressed in lede? Where do you get support, the lede forum?

Does this include failsafe conditions?

Lantis

commit a35a7afc9f15b4c084c996ab0dbcd833b45f30d5
Author: Steven Barth <steven@midlink.org>
Date:   Mon Sep 7 19:29:25 2015 +0000

    Disable telnet in favor of passwordless SSH

    This enables passworldless login for root via SSH whenever no root
    password is set (e.g. after reset, flashing without keeping config
    or in failsafe) and removes telnet support alltogether.

    Signed-off-by: Steven Barth <steven@midlink.org>

@alirz

You admittedly said you have changed dropbear to openssh, made adjustments to busybox and possibly others we don't know about in your builds.  Maybe try something more basic(default) with less personal tweaks just to see how it plays out. 

I'm not saying the adjustments you made are wrong, but maybe something has changed between the last time you made a successful build and now.  All I'm trying to say is you are experiencing alot of things others are not which leads me back to something unique to your build.
 
Keep It Simple.

(Last edited by kirkgbr on 28 Sep 2016, 11:59)

Password setting issues.

The only way password settings issues would occur randomly is due to something wonky in the customizations made to the build. It could be something common like a missing single quote in a system critical config file or script, incorrect formatting/modifications of the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files, incorrect permissions, or something more complex; however, it's definitely not an issue with OpenWrt itself. 

• If the wonkiness was being caused by a bug in OpenWrt, it would have been a top priority and fixed within a day by either OpenWrt devs or another user(s).  OpenWrt runs on hundreds, if not thousands of devices, with something like the root password being such a critical system function, it would have been a top priority to fix.

• Additionally, passwd functionality is such a basic function utilized across thousands of distros of both linux and bsd that an issue with it would be seen across multiple distros.

Since no one else is, or has, experienced an issue with passwords, the heuristic of Occam's Razor applies... the simplest answer is almost always the correct one.  It's far more likely password issues are user environment related, and far less likely than the complexity of an issue within OpenWrt itself causing the issue.

(Last edited by JW0914 on 28 Sep 2016, 16:01)

@JW0914

We can agree to disagree.

I actually only had this happen when using LEDE trunk, or Openwrt trunk. When trying David's build or anything else, I had no issues setting the password. Just trunk for me had the issues.

Agreeing or disagreeing occurs with opinions... what I stated wasn't an opinion, but a fact.  If you're having issues with passwords, it's environment related. 

Which do you suppose is more likely... an issue within OpenWrt with passwd functionality that every other user has somehow missed, or an issue specific to the specific user's environment? 

• Simply put, it's a basic scientific principle: unless a cause and effect can be reproduced by others, then it's simply not the norm... this is why academics present their work in peer reviewed journals.  This principle is the bedrock of science and is how science exists as science.

(Last edited by JW0914 on 28 Sep 2016, 16:17)

Perhaps, like me, it just isn't such a big deal so people just aren't talking about it. Which I didn't bother, until Alirz mentioned he was having a problem with the same thing. I also see why no one else is saying anything, everyone needs to chill in here.

@JW0914, This is rich coming from someone that argued there had to be a bug in Ubuntu permission rights because of issues in getting a build to work.

@mogolacerator, No not you. A while back pages of posts about a broken build, and attempts to help, the usual ad hominem attack was launched at those trying to assist.

(Last edited by Villeneuve on 28 Sep 2016, 16:27)

@Villeneuve

If you are referring to me, you need to go back and read wherever you found that, as it was not me with the Ubuntu issue.

(Last edited by mojolacerator on 28 Sep 2016, 16:22)

I'm not sure how root password issues wouldn't be a big deal considering OpenWrt is a single user OS by default and the root password is the only thing securing the webadmin, as well as SSH if not configured with PKI.  Most don't utilize OpenWrt as a smart switch, but as a gateway router, so yes, root passwords are critical and are definitely a "big deal".

(Last edited by JW0914 on 28 Sep 2016, 16:30)

My apologies