M4300-28G (GSM4328S) Firmware Upgrade - What happens to user passwords?

[Russell8974]

Hello all,

I'm upgrading our M4300-28G's firmware from 12.0.9.3 to 12.0.19.4.

The warnings section for the firmware's release notes state...

https://kb.netgear.com/000066372/M4300-Firmware-Version-12-0-19-4

• For user passwords, line passwords, and enable passwords that are encrypted with AES in firmware release 12.0.15.7 or earlier releases, automatic migration is supported to the more secure SHA512 in release 12.0.17.6 or later releases.
• User passwords, line passwords, and enable passwords that are encrypted with MD5 (salted) in firmware release 12.0.15.7 or earlier releases are not migrated to release 12.0.17.6 or later releases, so they must be set manually.
• SNMPv3 MD5 and SHA-based passwords from firmware release 12.0.15.7 or earlier releases are not migrated to release 12.0.17.6 or later releases, so they must be set manually.

My question is what happens when the firmware is upgraded regarding the user password, and does the password need to be changed beforehand to something compliant to the new firmware?

I'm interpreting it as when accessing the switch UI again after booting with the new firmware, I'll be prompted to set a new password.

Any help is appreciated!

Thank you,

[LaurentMa]

Hi @Russell8974 ,

Thank you for your message.

In your case, you are interpreting it right: when accessing the switch UI again after booting with the new firmware, you'll be prompted to set a new password - because the old password in your startup config won't have the correct salt/hash.

I hope it helps!

Laurent

[Russell8974]

Hello Laurent,

Thank you for taking the time to reply! It helps a lot 🙂

Thank you,