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Asked: 2017-04-22 08:50:06 +0800 CST

Authenticating as Ubuntu on EC2 when ssh'd in via keypairs

  • 772

I have an Ubuntu EC2 instance that I SSH in via ssh keypairs.

When I try to restart systemd it prompts for a password, which I don't have. I don't believe I set one up, and I have no idea what it would be, since I'm using the keypair to connect as the ubuntu user:

ubuntu@ip-172-31-35-37:~$ systemctl daemon-reload
==== AUTHENTICATING FOR org.freedesktop.systemd1.reload-daemon ===
Authentication is required to reload the systemd state.
Authenticating as: Ubuntu (ubuntu)
Password:
polkit-agent-helper-1: pam_authenticate failed: Authentication failure
==== AUTHENTICATION FAILED ===
Failed to execute operation: Access denied

How can I make this work?

ubuntu

3 Answers

  1. You need root permission to do that. Use

    sudo systemctl daemon-reload
    • 9

  2. This may not be the answer, but it certainly is an answer because it worked for me in the same situation:

    Execute the following command to elevate yourself to super user for the session:

    sudo su

    Info about sudo su (aka super user) here

    • 1

  3. Just run

    sudo passwd ec2-user

    To get your password!

    • -3