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by martinp 3119 days ago
This support article explains how to disable the root user: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204012
1 comments
jameskilton 3119 days ago
Do note that this doesn't fix the problem. The system (at least High Sierra) will happily re-enable the user for every attempt at logging in.
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LolWolf 3119 days ago
Just change the root password once the account is enabled; this fixes the hole.

sudo passwd -u root

It's sad we have to do this, though.

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tekacs 3119 days ago
If you disable the root user using `dsenableroot -d` from the Terminal, this seems to disable the account in a way that leaves its password intact.
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pwinnski 3119 days ago
The bug isn't in the disabling, it's in the auto-enabling on attempt.
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tekacs 3119 days ago
Having tested this by both approaches (disabling through GUI & shell), the above (through shell) seems to prevent this from re-occurring when you attempt to perform this bogus login again. Disabling the account via the GUI causes the failure to re-occur.
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