Disable SSH Root Login

 

To disable root login, open the main ssh configuration file /etc/ssh/sshd_config with your choice of editor.

# vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Search for the following line in the file.

#PermitRootLogin no

Remove the ‘#‘ from the beginning of the line.  Make the line look similar to this.

PermitRootLogin no

Disable Root Login in Linux

Next, we need to restart the SSH daemon service.

# systemctl restart sshd
OR
# /etc/init.d/sshd restart

Now try to log in with the root user, you will get a “Permission denied” error.

$ ssh root@192.168.0.102
root@192.168.0.102's password: 
Permission denied, please try again.

SSH Permission Denied Error

So, from now onwards login as a normal user and then use the ‘su’ command to switch to root user.

$ ssh root@192.168.0.102
tecmint@192.168.0.102's password:
Last login: Mon Dec 27 15:04:58 2021 from 192.168.0.161

$ su -
Password:
Last login: Mon Dec 27 15:05:07 IST 2021 on pts/1

SSH User Login