No root password?
Hi guys,
I have just created a new linode and was in the process of setting it up as per your guide.
However contrary to what the guide says, I have am not being asked for my root password once I try to ssh root@XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX.
Is this normal?
3 Replies
Could be… Did you set a root password when you created your Linode? If not, then the behavior you're seeing is normal.
It's not a very good idea to have a Unix/Linux system without a root password. It's also not a very good idea to allow the super-user to login using an ssh(1) session. See here:
https://www.pragmaticlinux.com/2020/05/no-longer-permit-root-login-via-ssh/
-- sw
Wouldn't using SSH keys be safe to log in as root?
If root already has a password, how would you delete it (via sudo) so that only SSH Keys will work?
Al
@acanton77 --
You write:
Wouldn't using SSH keys be safe to log in as root?
That's not the point… Allowing remote root logins is a YUUUUUUGGGEEE security hole. This is why God invented su(1)/sudo(1).
See:
https://serverfault.com/questions/152280/why-shouldnt-root-be-allowed-to-login-via-ssh
If root already has a password, how would you delete it (via sudo) so that only SSH Keys will work?
You don't delete passwords for anyone. You configure sshd(8) to not accept them as valid login credentials. See:
https://linuxhandbook.com/ssh-disable-password-authentication/
-- sw