Changing a WordPress user password

In some situations, either due to a forgotten password or account compromise, the administrator can lose access to the WordPress dashboard.

Fortunately, there are reliable ways to reset the password, either with WP-CLI or directly through the database.

Using WP-CLI

If WP-CLI is installed on the server, password reset is quick and simple. If it is not installed yet, check the official documentation first.

List existing users:

php wp user list

Identify the user ID and run:

php wp user update USER_ID --user_pass="NEW_PASSWORD"

Done. The user can now log in to wp-admin with the new password.

Using the database

If WP-CLI is unavailable, you can reset the password directly in the WordPress database.

Find the database name in your config:

grep DB wp-config.php

Connect to MySQL/MariaDB:

mysql -u DB_USER -p

• DB_USER: database username configured in WordPress.

After entering the password, if login succeeds you should see:

MariaDB [(none)]>

Select the correct database:

use DATABASE_NAME;

List tables to identify your prefix:

show tables;

Example with wp_ prefix:

| wp_users |
| wp_posts |
| wp_options |
...

Find the admin user:

select user_login from wp_users WHERE ID = '1';

Warning: In non-hardened installations, ID 1 is often the admin user.

Expected output:

+-------------+
| user_login  |
+-------------+
| username    |
+-------------+
1 row in set (0.001 sec)

Set a new password (using MD5 for emergency recovery convenience):

UPDATE wp_users SET user_pass = MD5('newPassword123') WHERE user_login = 'username';

If successful:

Query OK, 1 row affected (0.001 sec)
Rows matched: 1 Changed: 1 Warnings: 0

You can now log in to the WordPress admin panel with the updated password.

Warning: After database reset, change the password again from the WordPress dashboard so WordPress can store it using a stronger modern hash.

This post is licensed under CC BY-NC.