Reset forgotten password in Ubuntu WSL: A comprehensive guide

If you are using windows with WSL Ubuntu and forgot the password, resetting it would be a hassle. However, you can reset the password without reinstalling the distro or losing the data. This is a step-by-step guide to reset a forgotten password in Ubuntu WSL running on windows and not a guide to cause harm in any form. Please follow this guide if you:

• Forgot password without use for long period

• Setup random password accidentally

Here is the Step-by-Step guide to reset your Ubuntu WSL password running on windows.

1. Open CMD or PowerShell as an Administrator.

   • Click Start or press windows button

   • Type cmd or powershell to search

   • Right click and select Run as administrator.

2. List your installed Linux distributions

   wsl -l -v

   Example:

    NAME                STATE           VERSION
   * Ubuntu    running         2

3. Launch WSL as root user

   Type exact name of your ubuntu distribution (Ubuntu in my case it might be Ubuntu-24.0)

   wsl -d Ubuntu -u root

4. Figure out your username (if you know your username, skip this step)

   ls /home 

5. Reset your password

   passwd yourusername

   Replace yourusername with above output or your known username

   Enter new UNIX password: 
   Retype new UNIX password:
    passwd: password updated successfully    

   Enter new password and complete the process.

Hope you have successfully reset your password. If you have any problem, feel free to contact me.