Password Recovery on Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator

This document describes the password recovery procedure for the following Cisco Virtual Private Network (VPN) products running version 2.5.1 or later.

Cisco VPN 3002
Cisco VPN 3005
Cisco VPN 3015
Cisco VPN 3030
Cisco VPN 3060
Cisco VPN 3080

Note: For concentrators running code version 2.5 or earlier, contact the Cisco TAC for password recovery assistance.

Default Password
The factory default passwords for the Cisco VPN 3000 Series are:
username: admin
password: admin

Step-by-Step Procedure

Follow the steps below to recover a password.

  • Connect a PC to the VPN Concentrator via a straight-through RS-232 serial cable between the console port on the VPN Concentrator and the COM1 or serial port on the PC (Cisco supplies the cable with the system).
  • Start a terminal emulator (HyperTerminal) on the PC. Configure a connection on COM1 with port settings of:
    • 9600 bits per second
    • 8 data bits
    • no parity
    • 1 stop bit
    • hardware flow control
    • Set the emulator for VT100 emulation, or let it auto-detect the emulation type.
  • When the Concentrator boots, and after the power-up diagnostics check is complete, a line of three dots (…) appears on the console, a sample of which is shown below for reference. Press Ctrl-C within 3 seconds after seeing these dot. This displays a menu that lets you reset the system passwords to their defaults.
Boot-ROM Initializing...
Boot configured 128Mb of RAM.
...
Loading image ..........
Verifying image checksum ...........
Active image loaded and verified...
Starting loaded image...
Starting power-up diagnostics...
...

!— At this second set of three dots, press Ctrl-C.

Main Menu Options
-----------------
1 - Reset Passwords
Q - Quit Main Menu

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