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SSH/OpenSSH/Configuring
Parent page: Internet and Networking >> SSH

Introduction

Once you have installed an OpenSSH server,

sudo apt-get install openssh-server

you will need to configure it by editing the

sshd_config file in the /etc/ssh directory.
sshd_config is the configuration file for
the OpenSSH server. ssh_config is the
configuration file for the OpenSSH client.
Make sure not to get them mixed up.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Disable Password
Authentication
3. Disable Forwarding
4. Specify Which Accounts
Can Use SSH
5. Rate-limit the connections
6. Log More Information
7. Display a Banner
8. Troubleshooting

First, make a backup of your sshd_config file by copying it to your home

directory, or by making a read-only copy in /etc/ssh by doing:

sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.factory-defaults

sudo chmod a-w /etc/ssh/sshd_config.factory-defaults

Creating a read-only backup in /etc/ssh means you'll always be able to find a

known-good configuration when you need it.

Once you've backed up your sshd_config file, you can make changes with any text
editor, for example;
sudo gedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config

runs the standard text editor in Ubuntu 12.04 or more recent. For older versions
replace "sudo" with "gksudo". Once you've made your changes (see the suggestions in
the rest of this page), you can apply them by saving the file then doing:
sudo restart ssh

If you get the error, "Unable to connect to Upstart", restart ssh with the following:
sudo systemctl restart ssh

Configuring OpenSSH means striking a balance between security and ease-of-use.

Ubuntu's default configuration tries to be as secure as possible without making it
impossible to use in common use cases. This page discusses some changes you can
make, and how they affect the balance between security and ease-of-use. When
reading each section, you should decide what balance is right for your specific
situation.

Disable Password Authentication

Because a lot of people with SSH servers use weak passwords, many online attackers
will look for an SSH server, then start guessing passwords at random. An attacker can
try thousands of passwords in an hour, and guess even the strongest password given
enough time. The recommended solution is to use SSH keys instead of passwords. To
be as hard to guess as a normal SSH key, a password would have to contain 634
random letters and numbers. If you'll always be able to log in to your computer with an
SSH key, you should disable password authentication altogether.
If you disable password authentication, it will only be possible to connect from
computers you have specifically approved. This massively improves your security, but
makes it impossible for you to connect to your own computer from a friend's PC
without pre-approving the PC, or from your own laptop when you accidentally delete
your key.
It's recommended to disable password authentication unless you have a specific
reason not to.
To disable password authentication, look for the following line in your
sshd_config file:
#PasswordAuthenticationyes
replace it with a line that looks like this:
PasswordAuthenticationno

Once you have saved the file and restarted your SSH server, you shouldn't even be
asked for a password when you log in.

Disable Forwarding

By default, you can tunnel network connections through an SSH session. For example,
you could connect over the Internet to your PC, tunnel a remote desktop connection,
and access your desktop. This is known as "port forwarding".

By default, you can also tunnel specific graphical applications through an SSH session.
For example, you could connect over the Internet to your PC and run
nautilus "file://$HOME" to see your PC's home folder. This is known as
"X11 forwarding".
While both of these are very useful, they also give more options to an attacker who has
already guessed your password. Disabling these options gives you a little security, but
not as much as you'd think. With access to a normal shell, a resourceful attacker can
replicate both of these techniques and a specially-modified SSH client.
It's only recommended to disable forwarding if you also use SSH keys with specified
commands.
To disable forwarding, look for the following lines in your sshd_config:
AllowTcpForwardingyes
X11Forwardingyes
and replace them with:
AllowTcpForwardingno
X11Forwardingno
If either of the above lines don't exist, just add the replacement to the bottom of the
file. You can disable each of these independently if you prefer.

Specify Which Accounts Can Use SSH

You can explicitly allow or deny access for certain users or groups. For example, if
you have a family PC where most people have weak passwords, you might want to
allow SSH access just for yourself.
Allowing or denying SSH access for specific users can significantly improve your
security if users with poor security practices don't need SSH access.

It's recommended to specify which accounts can use SSH if only a few users want (not)
to use SSH.
To allow only the users Fred and Wilma to connect to your computer, add the
following line to the bottom of the sshd_config file:
AllowUsersFredWilma
To allow everyone except the users Dino and Pebbles to connect to your computer,
add the following line to the bottom of the sshd_config file:
DenyUsersDinoPebbles
It's possible to create very complex rules about who can use SSH - you can allow or
deny specific groups of users, or users whose names match a specific pattern, or who
are logging in from a specific location. For more details about how to create complex
rules, see the sshd_config man page

Rate-limit the connections

It's possible to limit the rate at which one IP address can establish new SSH
connections by configuring the uncomplicated firewall (ufw). If an IP address is tries
to connect more than 10 times in 30 seconds, all the following attempts will fail since
the connections will be DROPped. The rule is added to the firewall by running a single
command:
sudo ufw limit ssh

On a single-user or low-powered system, such as a laptop, the number of total

simultaneous pending (not yet authorized) login connections to the system can also be
limited. This example will allow two pending connections. Between the third and tenth
connection the system will start randomly dropping connections from 30% up to 100%
at the tenth simultaneous connection. This should be set in sshd_config.
MaxStartups2:30:10

In a multi-user or server environment, these numbers should be set significantly higher

depending on resources and demand to alleviate denial-of-access attacks. Setting a
lower the login grace time (time to keep pending connections alive while waiting for
authorization) can be a good idea as it frees up pending connections quicker but at the
expense of convenience.
LoginGraceTime30

Log More Information

By default, the OpenSSH server logs to the AUTH facility of syslog, at the INFO
level. If you want to record more information - such as failed login attempts - you
should increase the logging level to VERBOSE.
It's recommended to log more information if you're curious about malicious SSH
traffic.
To increase the level, find the following line in your sshd_config:
LogLevelINFO
and change it to this:
LogLevelVERBOSE
Now all the details of ssh login attempts will be saved in your
/var/log/auth.log file.

If you have started using a different port, or if you think your server is well-enough
hidden not to need much security, you should increase your logging level and examine
your auth.log file every so often. If you find a significant number of spurious login
attempts, then your computer is under attack and you need more security.
Whatever security precautions you've taken, you might want to set the logging level to
VERBOSE for a week, and see how much spurious traffic you get. It can be a sobering
experience to see just how much your computer gets attacked.

Display a Banner

If you want to try to scare novice attackers, it can be funny to display a banner
containing legalese. This doesn't add any security, because anyone that's managed to

break in won't care about a "no trespassing" sign--but it might give a bad guy a
chuckle.
To add a banner that will be displayed before authentication, find this line:
#Banner/etc/issue.net
and replace it with:
Banner/etc/issue.net
This will display the contents of the /etc/issue.net file, which you should edit
to your taste. If you want to display the same banner to SSH users as to users logging
in on a local console, replace the line with:
Banner/etc/issue
To edit the banner itself try
sudo gedit /etc/issue.net

Here is an example for what you might put in an issue or issue.net file and you
could just copy&paste this in:
***************************************************************************
NOTICE TO USERS
This computer system is the private property of its owner, whether
individual, corporate or government. It is for authorized use only.
Users (authorized or unauthorized) have no explicit or implicit
expectation of privacy.
Any or all uses of this system and all files on this system may be
intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and
disclosed to your employer, to authorized site, government, and law
enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of government
agencies, both domestic and foreign.

By using this system, the user consents to such interception, monitoring,

recording, copying, auditing, inspection, and disclosure at the
discretion of such personnel or officials. Unauthorized or improper use
of this system may result in civil and criminal penalties and
administrative or disciplinary action, as appropriate. By continuing to
use this system you indicate your awareness of and consent to these terms
and conditions of use. LOG OFF IMMEDIATELY if you do not agree to the
conditions stated in this warning.

****************************************************************************

Troubleshooting
Once you have finished editing sshd_config, make sure to save your changes
before restarting your SSH daemon.
First, check that your SSH daemon is running:
ps -A | grep sshd

This command should produce a line like this:

<some number> ?

00:00:00 sshd

If there is no line, your SSH daemon is not running. If it is, you should next check that
it's listening for incoming connections:
sudo ss -lnp | grep sshd

This command should produce a line that looks like one of these:
0
0

128
128

:::22
*:22

:::*
*:*

users:(("sshd",16893,4))
users:(("sshd",16893,3))

If there is more than one line, in particular with a port number different than 22, then
your SSH daemon is listening on more than one port - you might want to go back and
delete some Port lines in your sshd_config. If there are no lines, your SSH
daemon is not listening on any ports, so you need to add at least one Port line. If the
line specifies something other than "*:22" ([::]:22 is IPv6), then your SSH daemon is
listening on a non-standard port or address, which you might want to fix.
Next, try logging in from your own computer:
ssh -v localhost

This will print a lot of debugging information, and will try to connect to your SSH
server. You should be prompted to type your password, and you should get another
command-line when you type your password in. If this works, then your SSH server is
listening on the standard SSH port. If you have set your computer to listen on a nonstandard port, then you will need to go back and comment out (or delete) a line in your
configuration that reads Port 22. Otherwise, your SSH server has been configured
correctly.
To leave the SSH command-line, type:
exit

If you have a local network (such as a home or office network), next try logging in
from one of the other computers on your network. If nothing happens, you might need
to tell your computer's firewall to allow connections on port 22 (or from the nonstandard port you chose earlier).

Finally, try logging in from another computer elsewhere on the Internet - perhaps from
work (if your computer is at home) or from home (if your computer is at your work). If
you can't access your computer this way, you might need to tell your router's firewall
to allow connections from port 22, and might also need to configure Network Address
Translation.
SSH/OpenSSH/Configuring (last edited 2015-08-24 19:51:36 by peterson-ca @ ip17470-35-183.om.om.cox.net[174.70.35.183]:peterson-ca)