Comment 18 for bug 1440263

A bit more information:

 - cloud-init steals the password, so it may not be possible to rely on another CS-specific component to set it

 - CS-provided script is not equivalent since it modifies the password for root, while Cloud Init will modify the password for the default user. On first boot, if we use both, we may have some kind of race condition. If CS executes first, the password is for root. Otherwise, it's for ubuntu. On subsequent boots, the password is for root.