RESOLVED: Cannot login to Cisco ASA 5516

[Andrew.Ford1]

When I try to login to ASDM I get the following:

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ASDM is not able to access asdm_handler service on device x.x.x.x

It is likely that the user password has expired or the maximum number of sessions has been exceeded on that device.

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I can not SSH to it either so I guess the password has expired, how do I get in to change it?

[Marvin Rhoads]

I do not recommend using the password expiration feature on ASAs with local user database only for just this reason. You get no warning of an expiring password nor way to see how long a given credential has until the password expires.

If you do not have another valid username / password combination, you will have to peform an ASA password recovery. That process requires a reload of the firewall and console access.

The password recovery process is described here:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/document/79016/asa-password-recovery

[Andrew.Ford1]

Thank you Marvin, I wish I'd known this before I was advised to use the feature by a security expert...

Will the process wipe my config? as I do not believe there is an up-to-date backup!

[Marvin Rhoads · Accepted solution]

Pick your experts carefully. :)

Your configuration is safe as long as you haven't also enabled the "no service password-recovery" feature. If you have that feature turned on as well then your situation will unfortunately require erase of the configuration to regain access to the device.

Perhaps when you regain access you should consider a regular backup scheme.