There have been a number of answers provided. The one that was given to me when I encountered this same problem was to boot a live CD, mount the root file system and delete the password file which would force your normal distro boot to request a new root password next time.
HOWEVER, the big deal here is that the most likely cause is the server being hacked. I got hacked a few months ago. Step 1 was log in as root. Step 2 was change the root password. Step 3 was replace a few key executables like ps so I couldn't do administrative tasks. Step 4 was launch a denial of service attack against someone. That is when I discovered the problem, because it ate up all my DSL bandwidth. The problem is that you don't know exactly what files have been changed and if they have left a trap door or something. You could fix the root password, and even discover and restore a few key files, only to find it hacked 5 minutes later because you didn't know everything that had been altered. For that reason, few people will put a system back on line after the root password has been compromised. Re-installation is the only safe way. If some of your directories like /home and /user have separate mount points, they don't have to get wiped out in the process. Wilton
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