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    SSH login using default user “admin”

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • wgstarksW
      wgstarks
      last edited by

      Thanks. I’ll check the system log and see what it shows.

      Box: SG-4200

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      • JKnottJ
        JKnott
        last edited by

        @wgstarks:

        I’m a new pfSense user with a new pfSense install. Tried to login to the box via ssh for the first time yesterday using ssh admin@ <ip>but the password wasn’t accepted. Just kept getting prompted for the password until the connection was eventually refused and I would have to start over. I know the password is correct, it works for webgui login.

        I was able to eventually login to ssh by creating a new user in the webgui with group “admins” which worked without issue. Still wondering why I can’t login to ssh using the default admin user?</ip>

        Try using root, not admin.  When I ssh from my Linux computers, I use ssh root@firewall.  I'm then prompted for the root password, which is the same as the admin.  Don't forget, pfSense is built on FreeBSD and, like all *nix systems the root user is the one with all rights.

        PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
        i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
        UniFi AC-Lite access point

        I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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        • wgstarksW
          wgstarks
          last edited by

          Not sure what was causing the problem? I opened the system log but there weren't any entries.

          Clip from terminal-

          maggie:~ wgstarks$ ssh admin@10.0.1.1 -p 2222
          Password for admin@odin.dahoney.me:
          Connection closed by 10.0.1.1
          
          

          This resulted in no entries at all in the log.

          I used the user manager to reset the pword for "admin" to exactly the same value and now it works for both admin and root. No idea what was causing the problem but it seems to be fixed. ???

          Box: SG-4200

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          • wgstarksW
            wgstarks
            last edited by

            After a little more testing, it seems that every time i reboot my system I can no longer connect via ssh. The password will work for webgui login but not for ssh login. I have to edit the admin user and restore the current password to be able to login via ssh. Not sure how to trouble shoot this?

            Box: SG-4200

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            • jahonixJ
              jahonix
              last edited by

              Which version do you use on what kind of platform?
              Might it be a read-only mounted file system? It should commit changes but…

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              • GertjanG
                Gertjan
                last edited by

                Strange.

                I'm using a Putty session, with "admin" as the auto-login user name.
                But I'm NOT using the password related to the "pfSense's admin user  ;)
                I generated and use key for authentication - have to type in the passphrase of the key  :

                Using username "admin".
                Authenticating with public key "rsa-key-20150201"
                Passphrase for key "rsa-key-20150201":
                pfSense - Netgate Device ID: 20bbccdf95385caaa087
                
                *** Welcome to pfSense 2.4.2-RELEASE (amd64) on pfsense ***
                ...
                

                Works great.

                No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                Edit : and where are the logs ??

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                • wgstarksW
                  wgstarks
                  last edited by

                  @jahonix:

                  Which version do you use on what kind of platform?
                  Might it be a read-only mounted file system? It should commit changes but…

                  It’s vs 2.4.2 on a minisys n10e. The SSD is formatted ZFS but also had the same issue with UFS.

                  As far as I can tell only the password is effected by rebooting and only for ssh. The same user/password is used for webgui login without any issues. Don’t see any other settings/configurations that are getting lost on reboot.

                  Box: SG-4200

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                  • GertjanG
                    Gertjan
                    last edited by

                    I'm with you here, and with @johnpoz : It's really time that we all (you inclusive !!) see some logs now.

                    No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                    Edit : and where are the logs ??

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                    • wgstarksW
                      wgstarks
                      last edited by

                      @Gertjan:

                      I'm with you here, and with @johnpoz : It's really time that we all (you inclusive !!) see some logs now.

                      I'd be glad to post them, but as far as I can tell nothing is being logged on the failed attempts. The only log entries I can find are for successful logins after editing the admin user. Do I need to check something other than system logs?

                      Box: SG-4200

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                      • jimpJ
                        jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                        last edited by

                        Did you move ssh to a different port? Or maybe you have a port forward or other NAT setup which might be redirecting that port to something else?

                        Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

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                        • wgstarksW
                          wgstarks
                          last edited by

                          I changed ssh to port 2222 so to login I’m using ssh root@ <ip>-p 2222. I’ll get a prompt for a password. Sometimes the password works and sometimes I get “connection terminated” and nothing is logged on the firewall.</ip>

                          Box: SG-4200

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                          • H
                            hda
                            last edited by

                            @wgstarks:

                            … Sometimes the password works and sometimes I get “connection terminated”...

                            sshd_config. -> LoginGraceTime 30s

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                            • GertjanG
                              Gertjan
                              last edited by

                              I just moved the "22" port to "2222" (why 2222  ? a port scan on your LAN will find it in less then 1 second).

                              In reverse order :

                              Dec 2 09:46:51 sshd 8263 Accepted keyboard-interactive/pam for admin from 192.168.1.6 port 50087 ssh2
                              Dec 2 09:46:48 sshd 8263 error: PAM: authentication error for admin from 192.168.1.6
                              Dec 2 09:46:45 sshd 8263 error: PAM: authentication error for admin from 192.168.1.6
                              Dec 2 09:46:22 sshd 59619 Server listening on 0.0.0.0 port 2222.
                              Dec 2 09:46:22 sshd 59619 Server listening on :: port 2222.
                              Dec 2 09:46:21 check_reload_status starting sshd
                              Dec 2 09:46:21 php-fpm 75193 /system_advanced_admin.php: secure shell configuration has changed. Restarting sshd.
                              Dec 2 09:46:21 php-fpm 75193 /system_advanced_admin.php: secure shell configuration has changed. Stopping sshd.

                              Logs work fine for me …. something's up with your system.

                              No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                              Edit : and where are the logs ??

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                              • wgstarksW
                                wgstarks
                                last edited by

                                @Gertjan:

                                something's up with your system.

                                I think you are probably correct. Not sure, but I suspect that an incorrect password wouldn’t result in a terminated connection but rather an error about invalid password and a prompt for another one. I also can’t receive Growl notifications on the same system even though pfSense shows that they are being sent successfully.

                                I’ve installed a public key on the system and we’ll see how that works. So far no problems.

                                Box: SG-4200

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