The system is broken. Wipe it and start again. I could imagine a system with no configured root but root only is just a security nightmare and not worth using as a starting point.
I really hope that machine isn’t exposed to the internet…
In theory a root application can drop capabilities when it starts up and remain root pid, but it’s not that common… it’s used for certain system apps that require root to increase security. It is not a replacement for unprivileged users.