diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 240c301..481529e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ services:
       - TZ=Europe/London
       - PASSWORD=password #optional
       - SUDO_PASSWORD=password #optional
+      - SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH= #optional
       - PROXY_DOMAIN=code-server.my.domain #optional
     volumes:
       - /path/to/appdata/config:/config
@@ -110,6 +111,7 @@ docker run -d \
   -e TZ=Europe/London \
   -e PASSWORD=password `#optional` \
   -e SUDO_PASSWORD=password `#optional` \
+  -e SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH= `#optional` \
   -e PROXY_DOMAIN=code-server.my.domain `#optional` \
   -p 8443:8443 \
   -v /path/to/appdata/config:/config \
@@ -130,6 +132,7 @@ Container images are configured using parameters passed at runtime (such as thos
 | `-e TZ=Europe/London` | Specify a timezone to use EG Europe/London |
 | `-e PASSWORD=password` | Optional web gui password, if not provided, there will be no auth. |
 | `-e SUDO_PASSWORD=password` | If this optional variable is set, user will have sudo access in the code-server terminal with the specified password. |
+| `-e SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH=` | Optionally set sudo password via hash (takes priority over `SUDO_PASSWORD` var). Format is `$type$salt$hashed`. |
 | `-e PROXY_DOMAIN=code-server.my.domain` | If this optional variable is set, this domain will be proxied for subdomain proxying. See [Documentation](https://github.com/cdr/code-server/blob/master/doc/FAQ.md#sub-domains) |
 | `-v /config` | Contains all relevant configuration files. |
 
@@ -247,6 +250,7 @@ Once registered you can define the dockerfile to use with `-f Dockerfile.aarch64
 
 ## Versions
 
+* **23.12.20:** - Allow setting sudo password via hash using env var `SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH`.
 * **29.05.20:** - Add --domain-proxy support.
 * **21.05.20:** - Shrink images, install via yarn, fix arm32v7 build.
 * **18.05.20:** - Switch to multi-arch images, install via npm.
diff --git a/readme-vars.yml b/readme-vars.yml
index e707525..2b34d75 100644
--- a/readme-vars.yml
+++ b/readme-vars.yml
@@ -42,13 +42,14 @@ param_ports:
   - { external_port: "8443", internal_port: "8443", port_desc: "web gui" }
 param_usage_include_env: true
 param_env_vars:
-  - { env_var: "TZ", env_value: "Europe/London", desc: "Specify a timezone to use EG Europe/London"}
+  - { env_var: "TZ", env_value: "Europe/London", desc: "Specify a timezone to use EG Europe/London" }
 
 # optional container parameters
 opt_param_usage_include_env: true
 opt_param_env_vars:
-  - { env_var: "PASSWORD", env_value: "password", desc: "Optional web gui password, if not provided, there will be no auth."}
-  - { env_var: "SUDO_PASSWORD", env_value: "password", desc: "If this optional variable is set, user will have sudo access in the code-server terminal with the specified password."}
+  - { env_var: "PASSWORD", env_value: "password", desc: "Optional web gui password, if not provided, there will be no auth." }
+  - { env_var: "SUDO_PASSWORD", env_value: "password", desc: "If this optional variable is set, user will have sudo access in the code-server terminal with the specified password." }
+  - { env_var: "SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH", env_value: "", desc: "Optionally set sudo password via hash (takes priority over `SUDO_PASSWORD` var). Format is `$type$salt$hashed`." }
   - { env_var: "PROXY_DOMAIN", env_value: "code-server.my.domain", desc: "If this optional variable is set, this domain will be proxied for subdomain proxying. See [Documentation](https://github.com/cdr/code-server/blob/master/doc/FAQ.md#sub-domains)" }
 
 optional_block_1: false
@@ -68,7 +69,8 @@ app_setup_block: |
 
 # changelog
 changelogs:
-  - { date: "29.05.20:", desc: "Add --domain-proxy support."}
+  - { date: "23.12.20:", desc: "Allow setting sudo password via hash using env var `SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH`." }
+  - { date: "29.05.20:", desc: "Add --domain-proxy support." }
   - { date: "21.05.20:", desc: "Shrink images, install via yarn, fix arm32v7 build." }
   - { date: "18.05.20:", desc: "Switch to multi-arch images, install via npm." }
   - { date: "29.04.20:", desc: "Update start arguments." }
diff --git a/root/etc/cont-init.d/30-config b/root/etc/cont-init.d/30-config
index c10cbc3..ef6be25 100644
--- a/root/etc/cont-init.d/30-config
+++ b/root/etc/cont-init.d/30-config
@@ -2,14 +2,19 @@
 
 mkdir -p /config/{extensions,data,workspace,.ssh}
 
-if [ -n "${SUDO_PASSWORD}" ]; then
+if [ -n "${SUDO_PASSWORD}" ] || [ -n "${SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH}" ]; then
   echo "setting up sudo access"
   if ! grep -q 'abc' /etc/sudoers; then
     echo "adding abc to sudoers"
     echo "abc ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL" >> /etc/sudoers
   fi
-  echo "setting sudo password"
-  echo -e "${SUDO_PASSWORD}\n${SUDO_PASSWORD}" | passwd abc
+  if [ -n "${SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH}" ]; then
+    echo "setting sudo password using sudo password hash"
+    sed -i "s|^abc:\!:|abc:${SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH}:|" /etc/shadow
+  else
+    echo "setting sudo password using SUDO_PASSWORD env var"
+    echo -e "${SUDO_PASSWORD}\n${SUDO_PASSWORD}" | passwd abc
+  fi
 fi
 
 # permissions