How do I reset the ColdFusion Administrator password?

If you forget the ColdFusion Administrator password you can update the neo-security.xml file to disable password authentication for the ColdFusion Administrator. You can then access the ColdFusion Administrator, reset the password and re-enable password authentication. You will need to have administrative access to the server running ColdFusion to complete this process.

Note: This article only applies to our ColdFusion VPS hosting plans and dedicated servers running ColdFusion. Shared ColdFusion hosting customers do not have access to the ColdFusion Administrator.

To reset the ColdFusion Administrator password, please follow these steps.

Windows:

1. Connect to the server using Remote Desktop Connection.
2. Stop the ColdFusion service by going to Start > Run > and typing services.msc.
3. Navigate to the neo-security.xml file located in the ColdFusion /lib/ directory, for example c:\coldfusion8\lib\neo-security.xml
4. Open the file for editing in Notepad or WordPad.
5. Find the section for admin.security.enabled. It will look similar to the following:
   • <var name="admin.security.enabled"><boolean value="true" /></var>
6. Change the value from true to false.
7. Save and exit the file.
8. Start the ColdFusion service via services.msc.
9. In a browser, load the ColdFusion Administrator.
10. Expand Security and select CF Admin Password.
11. Check Use a ColdFusion Administration password.
12. Enter the new password and click Submit Changes.

Linux:

1. Connect to the server using SSH.
2. Navigate to the neo-security.xml file located in the ColdFusion /lib/ directory. For example /opt/coldfusionmx/lib/neo-security.xml
3. Open the file for editing.
4. Find the section for admin.security.enabled. It will look similar to the following:
   • <var name="admin.security.enabled"><boolean value="true" /></var>
5. Change the value from true to false.
6. Save and exit the file.
7. Restart ColdFusion. For example: /etc/init.d/coldfusionmx7 restart
8. In a browser, load the ColdFusion Administrator.
9. Expand Security and select CF Admin Password.
10. Check Use a ColdFusion Administration password.
11. Enter the new password and click Submit Changes.