Unless it is a trade secret, I am curious how Lightburn is able to access / allow changes to vendor settings on the Ruida controller without the need for the password.
As far as I know, the password is an RDWorks thing, not a controller thing. It’s possible that the password itself is stored in the controller, and RDWorks presents the challenge to the user and checks the result, but I didn’t bother with that bit. 
I might actually have to add support for this, as we’re getting a bit of push back from machine sellers, schools and maker spaces, which I understand.
Perhaps why the firmware on the HMI also prompts for the password (software challenge built into the HMI while direct communication with the controller requires no password).
At a minimum I guess if someone forgets the password or buys a used system that had the password changed, they have Lightburn to allow them access to the configuration.
And with older units, the HMI is NOT field up-gradable. I don’t remember what version I have, but I know it’s one version to old to be downloaded in the field. It and the older ones have to be sent in for an update.