OCI: Sudo Error This Account Is Currently Not Available.

Applies to:

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure - Version N/A and later

Linux x86-64

Symptoms

sudo to root user fails with the following error:

$ sudo su -
This account is currently not available.

Cause

The current shell for root user, defined in /etc/passwd, is /sbin/nologin.

 

The “/sbin/nologin” does not allow interactive logins or sudo.

$ grep root /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/sbin/nologin

Solution

It's possible to sudo to root by specifying an alternative shell, example:

$ sudo -s /bin/ksh
#

 

From the sudo man page:

    -s, --shell
                Run the shell specified by the SHELL environment variable if
                it is set or the shell specified by the invoking user's pass‐
                word database entry. If a command is specified, it is passed
                to the shell for execution via the shell's -c option. If no
                command is specified, an interactive shell is executed. Note
                that most shells behave differently when a command is speci‐
                fied as compared to an interactive session; consult the
                shell's manual for details.