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Console Login Works, SSH Login Doesn't

Posted April 27, 2017 17.7k views
Linux BasicsUbuntu

When I click console, I am prompted for a login. I use “root” and then enter my password. That works fine.

I use putty to SSH in, I am prompted for a login. I use “root” and then enter my password (as prompted), but it doesn’t accept the login credentials.

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usedearplugs
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usedearplugs

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3 answers
hansen April 27, 2017

Hi @usedearplugs

Have you modified security settings for SSH or root at some point?

Login on console, then run tail -f /var/log/auth.log. Now login over SSH and have it fail. What do you see in the console?
Also have a look with tail -50 /var/log/syslog

You can take screenshots of the console and upload to imgur.com and post link here.

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  • usedearplugs May 1, 2017

    Truthfully, I think this answer queued my brain back into the right mode. I have subdomains pointing to separate servers. I was going to the wrong server.

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jtittle1 April 27, 2017

@usedearplugs

If you’re able to log in to console, but not via SSH, ufw is probably active and you’ve been blocked.

If you log in to console, run ufw status and see if ufw is running. If it is, you can disable using:

ufw disable

Once disabled, try to login via SSH. If you’re able to login once again, I’d simply reset ufw and add your policies back.

ufw reset

ufw default deny incoming

ufw default allow outgoing

Allow SSH:

ufw allow 22/tcp

If you need HTTP/HTTPS (Ports 80 and 443):

ufw allow 80/tcp

ufw allow 443/tcp

Once you’ve setup your firewall rules as above, re-enable ufw:

ufw enable
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  • hansen April 27, 2017

    @jtittle If the login prompt is being shown via SSH, then it cannot be the firewall. I would probably guess root is not allowed to login directly via SSH.

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    • jtittle1 April 27, 2017

      @hansen @usedearplugs

      Ah, I overlooked that.

      If root is indeed locked, with PasswordAuthentication on, that’s a bit strange (if this is a new Droplet). If it’s an existing Droplet and you’re just now beginning to have an issue logging in, it’s definitely a good idea to check the logs and see if there’s something going on.

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  • usedearplugs May 1, 2017

    Lot of helpful information and thoughts here. Thank you. Turned out it was foible on my part. Subdomain pointed to a different server and I was connecting by host instead of IP. So I was trying to login into the wrong server.

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zakirraza45 April 8, 2018

I am having the similar problem. I am not able to login via ssh via Putty. When ever i try to login i get connection timed out. But from console its working. Please help me!

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  • alexdo December 8, 2020

    Hello, zakirraza45

    You can check if your IP is not blocked by your firewall? Are you suing any custom rules with UFW or just with iptables?

    Can you share any additional output that you receive in PuTTY when you try to access the droplet? You can make sure that you enter the droplet’s IP address followed by the root username and the password.

    Regards,
    Alex

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