How to reset the user password Administrator WordPress, without access to email or database - Reset WordPress Administrator Password

There are also critical moments when for various reasons we no longer have access to the email address on which we registered our user. Administrator WordPress, we don't know the access credentials to the database anymore and we don't even remember the password of the administration user. In this scenario we have to find a solution how to reset the user password Administrator WordPress. Reset WordPress Administrator Password.

Metotda below, by reset a user 's password WordPress requires access to FTP or a files manager (via cPanel) to create a file in the root folder where the blog or website is installed with WordPress for which we want to recover the admin password.

How to reset the user password Administrator WordPress if we do not have access to email or database

Reset WordPress Administrator Password

1. We create on the host server of WordPress in the root folder (public_htmla PHP file (reset_password.php, for example) in which we add the code below:

<?php
/*
	This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
    	it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
    	the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
    	(at your option) any later version.

	This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
    	but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
    	MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
    	GNU General Public License for more details.

	You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
    	along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
    	Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
*/

require './wp-blog-header.php';

function meh() {
	global $wpdb;

	if ( isset( $_POST['update'] ) ) {
		$user_login = ( empty( $_POST['e-name'] ) ? '' : sanitize_user( $_POST['e-name'] ) );
		$user_pass  = ( empty( $_POST[ 'e-pass' ] ) ? '' : $_POST['e-pass'] );
		$answer = ( empty( $user_login ) ? '<div id="message" class="updated fade"><p><strong>The user name field is empty.</strong></p></div>' : '' );
		$answer .= ( empty( $user_pass ) ? '<div id="message" class="updated fade"><p><strong>The password field is empty.</strong></p></div>' : '' );
		if ( $user_login != $wpdb->get_var( "SELECT user_login FROM $wpdb->users WHERE ID = '1' LIMIT 1" ) ) {
			$answer .="<div id='message' class='updated fade'><p><strong>That is not the correct administrator username.</strong></p></div>";
		}
		if ( empty( $answer ) ) {
			$wpdb->query( "UPDATE $wpdb->users SET user_pass = MD5('$user_pass'), user_activation_key = '' WHERE user_login = '$user_login'" );
			$plaintext_pass = $user_pass;
			$message = __( 'Someone, hopefully you, has reset the Administrator password for your WordPress blog. Details follow:' ). "\r\n";
			$message  .= sprintf( __( 'Username: %s' ), $user_login ) . "\r\n";
			$message .= sprintf( __( 'Password: %s' ), $plaintext_pass ) . "\r\n";
			@wp_mail( get_option( 'admin_email' ), sprintf( __( '[%s] Your WordPress administrator password has been changed!' ), get_option( 'blogname' ) ), $message );
			$answer="<div id='message' class='updated fade'><p><strong>Your password has been successfully changed</strong></p><p><strong>An e-mail with this information has been dispatched to the WordPress blog administrator</strong></p><p><strong>You should now delete this file off your server. DO NOT LEAVE IT UP FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO FIND!</strong></p></div>";
		}
	}

	return empty( $answer ) ? false : $answer;
}

$answer = meh();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
	<title>WordPress Emergency Password Reset</title>
	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="<?php bloginfo( 'html_type' ); ?>; charset=<?php bloginfo( 'charset' ); ?>" />
	<link rel="stylesheet" href="<?php bloginfo( 'wpurl' ); ?>/wp-admin/wp-admin.css?version=<?php bloginfo( 'version' ); ?>" type="text/css" />
</head>
<body>
	<div class="wrap">
		<form method="post" action="">
			<h2>WordPress Emergency Password Reset</h2>
			<p><strong>Your use of this script is at your sole risk. All code is provided "as -is", without any warranty, whether express or implied, of its accuracy, completeness. Further, I shall not be liable for any damages you may sustain by using this script, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential.</strong></p>
			<p>This script is intended to be used as <strong>a last resort</strong> by WordPress administrators that are unable to access the database.
				Usage of this script requires that you know the Administrator's user name for the WordPress install. (For most installs, that is going to be "admin" without the quotes.)</p>
			<?php
			echo $answer;
			?>
			<p class="submit"><input type="submit" name="update" value="Update Options" /></p>

			<fieldset class="options">
				<legend>WordPress Administrator</legend>
				<label><?php _e( 'Enter Username:' ) ?><br />
					<input type="text" name="e-name" id="e-name" class="input" value="<?php echo attribute_escape( stripslashes( $_POST['e-name'] ) ); ?>" size="20" tabindex="10" /></label>
				</fieldset>
				<fieldset class="options">
					<legend>Password</legend>
					<label><?php _e( 'Enter New Password:' ) ?><br />
					<input type="text" name="e-pass" id="e-pass" class="input" value="<?php echo attribute_escape( stripslashes( $_POST['e-pass'] ) ); ?>" size="25" tabindex="20" /></label>
				</fieldset>

				<p class="submit"><input type="submit" name="update" value="Update Options" /></p>
			</form>
		</div>
	</body>
</html>
<?php exit; ?>

2. Open in the browser the web address on which the newly created file is: https://example.com/reset_password.php and in the two fields we introduce the user of Administrator and the new password, then click on "Update Options"

How to reset the user password Administrator WordPress, without access to email or database.
Reset WordPress Administrator Password

3. After clicking on the password update (Update Options), to the email of the user with administrator rank for whom you did the reset, a message will be sent with the new password chosen by you.

4. Immediately delete the file from the server. It can be used by any user.

Your password has been successfully changed

An e-mail with this information has been dispatched to the WordPress blog administrator

You should now delete this file off your server. DO NOT LEAVE IT UP FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO FIND!

This is the simplest and most effective reset method WordPress Administrator password, for the scenario in which you do not have access to the database or to the e-mail account on which to recover your password.

Passionate about technology, I enjoy writing on StealthSettings.com since 2006. I have a rich experience in operating systems: macOS, Windows, and Linux, as well as in programming languages and blogging platforms (WordPress) and for online stores (WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop).

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