Secure Shell (SSH) is a protocol used to remotely access and manage servers. By default, SSH on Ubuntu is configured to disable root login for security reasons. However, in some cases, you may need to enable root login for administrative tasks. In this guide, we will go through the steps to enable SSH root login on Ubuntu.
Step 1: Login as a sudo user
To enable SSH root login, you need to have sudo access. So, first, log in as a user with sudo access to your Ubuntu server.
ssh [sudo_user]@[server_ip_address]
Step 2: Open the SSH configuration file
The next step is to open the SSH configuration file located at /etc/ssh/sshd_config. Open the file with your preferred text editor. We will use nano in this guide.
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Step 3: Enable SSH root login
In the sshd_config file, find the line containing PermitRootLogin and change its value to “yes”. If the line is commented out, remove the # symbol.
PermitRootLogin yes
Save and exit the file by pressing “Ctrl+X”, then “Y”, and finally “Enter”.
Step 4: Restart the SSH service
Now that we’ve made changes to the SSH configuration file, we need to restart the SSH service for the changes to take effect.
sudo service ssh restart
Step 5: Login as root via SSH
Finally, you can now log in as the root user via SSH. Use the following command to log in:
ssh root@[server_ip_address]
Commands Mentioned:
- ssh – protocol used to remotely access and manage servers
- sudo – used to gain root or administrative access to the system
- nano – a command-line text editor for Linux
- sudo service ssh restart – command to restart the SSH service on Ubuntu
Conclusion:
Enabling root login over SSH is not recommended as it poses security risks. It is always recommended to use a standard user with sudo access for administrative tasks. However, if you need to enable SSH root login for a specific task, follow the above steps to do so. Remember to disable SSH root login once you have completed the task. This guide has provided a simple and effective way to enable SSH root login on Ubuntu. If you have any suggestions or improvements, please leave them in the comments section below.
