# Admin login showing anonymous

## post by ratansuyi on Apr 6

ratansuyi@yahoo.com

ratansuyi

[Apr 6](https://community.sonatype.com/t/admin-login-showing-anonymous/16231 "Post date")

I installed Sonatype Nexus Repository OSS 3.72.0-04 on Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS server. I need to see the Clog Settings wheel. Rather when I log in as Admin, I do not get the prompt to change my password from the system-issued one and I show up as anonymous rather than Admin. I have reinstalled my Cloud server with more CPUs and RAM, changed my community version of Nexus to newer and back down. Google Gemini and I were on this for hours with no luck.

## post by ratansuyi on Apr 7

ratansuyi@yahoo.com

ratansuyi

[Apr 7](https://community.sonatype.com/t/admin-login-showing-anonymous/16231/2 "Post date")

Since we’ve been working through this over the last few days, here is the summary of our troubleshooting journey and the final resolution.

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## **Root Cause Analysis (RCA)**

### **1. Problem Statement**

User was unable to authenticate to the **Sonatype Nexus Repository** instance via the web UI. Standard credentials were failing, and the environment was unresponsive to initial login attempts after the initial server setup.

### **2. Timeline of Events**

- **Friday/Weekend:** Initial server deployment and Nexus installation. Access was established at the network level (IP and Port 8081 were open), but the `admin` login was unsuccessful.
- **Monday:** Investigated the file system via the CLI. We identified that the instance was a fresh install, meaning it used a **unique temporary password** generated during the first run.
- **Today:** Successfully located the `admin.password` file in the Nexus data directory. Used the long-string alphanumeric key to bypass the login screen and gain “Cog wheel” (Administrative) access.

### **3. Root Cause**

- **Primary Cause:** The “Default Password” (`admin123`) is no longer the standard for modern Nexus 3.x installations. Security hardening now requires a **system-generated temporary password** stored locally on the server’s disk.
- **Secondary Factor:** Confusion between the server’s SSH credentials and the application’s internal database credentials.

### **4. Resolution**

1. Accessed the server via SSH.
2. Navigated to the Nexus data directory: `/opt/sonatype/sonatype-work/nexus3/`.
3. Retrieved the password using `cat admin.password`.
4. Authenticated via the Web UI and confirmed **Admin** status.

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### **5. Lessons Learned & Best Practices**

- **The “First Login” Rule:** Always look for a `.password` or `initial_admin_password` file in `/etc/` or `/var/` for new DevOps tool installations (Jenkins and Nexus both do this).
- **Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Readiness:** Now that we have the password, we can move toward using **Ansible** to automate this login so you never have to manually “cat” a file again.