diff --git a/app/views/unattended/provisioning_templates/cloud_init/cloud_init_default.erb b/app/views/unattended/provisioning_templates/cloud_init/cloud_init_default.erb
index 6df0e79c2b4..b0c830d1baa 100644
--- a/app/views/unattended/provisioning_templates/cloud_init/cloud_init_default.erb
+++ b/app/views/unattended/provisioning_templates/cloud_init/cloud_init_default.erb
@@ -39,6 +39,12 @@ hostname: <%= @host.name %>
 fqdn: <%= @host %>
 manage_etc_hosts: true
 users: {}
+<% if @host.provision_method == 'image' && root_pass.present? -%>
+chpasswd:
+  expire: False
+  users:
+  - {name: root, password: <%= root_pass -%>}
+<% end -%>
 runcmd:
 - |
 <%= indent(2) { snippet 'fix_hosts' } -%>