SSH Hardening

SSH is the primary method for remote Linux server management and also the most commonly targeted entry point for attackers. This article systematically covers SSH security hardening measures, from key-based authentication to Fail2Ban brute-force protection, helping you build a secure remote access environment.

Use Key-Based Authentication Instead of Passwords

Key-based authentication is more secure and convenient than password authentication. Once configured, you should completely disable password login.

Generate a Key Pair on the Client

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

Tip

Ed25519 is the recommended algorithm as it is shorter, faster, and more secure than RSA. If you need compatibility with older systems, use ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096.

Follow the prompts. It is recommended to set a passphrase for an additional layer of security:

Generating public/private ed25519 key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/user/.ssh/id_ed25519): Press Enter
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Enter passphrase
Enter same passphrase again: Re-enter passphrase

Copy the Public Key to the Server

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub user@server_ip

Or copy it manually:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | ssh user@server_ip "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"

Verify Key-Based Login

ssh user@server_ip

If you are no longer prompted for a password (or only need to enter the key passphrase), key-based authentication is working.

Harden sshd_config

The main SSH configuration file is located at /etc/ssh/sshd_config. After each change, you need to restart the sshd service.

Danger

Before modifying SSH configuration, always keep at least one active SSH session as a fallback. A configuration error could lock you out of the server.

Back Up the Original Configuration

sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.bak

Disable Direct Root Login

sudo vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Find or add:

PermitRootLogin no

Note

If you still need root to log in via key (e.g., for automated deployments), set it to PermitRootLogin prohibit-password to allow only key-based authentication.

Disable Password Authentication

After confirming that key-based login works properly, disable password authentication:

PasswordAuthentication no

Also disable other insecure authentication methods:

ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
KbdInteractiveAuthentication no

Change the SSH Port

Changing the SSH port from the default 22 to another port can significantly reduce automated scanning attacks:

Port 2222

After changing the port, adjust SELinux and the firewall:

# Allow SELinux to use the new port
sudo semanage port -a -t ssh_port_t -p tcp 2222

# Allow the new port through the firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=2222/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --remove-service=ssh
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Caution

After changing the SSH port, make sure to verify that the new port works before closing the old one. You can listen on both ports simultaneously during the transition.

Configure AllowUsers Whitelist

Only allow specific users to log in via SSH:

AllowUsers admin deploy

You can also restrict by source IP:

AllowUsers admin@192.168.1.0/24 deploy@10.0.0.0/8

Similarly, you can use AllowGroups for group-based authorization:

AllowGroups sshusers

# Create the group and add users
sudo groupadd sshusers
sudo usermod -aG sshusers admin
sudo usermod -aG sshusers deploy

Additional Security Recommendations

# Disable empty password login
PermitEmptyPasswords no

# Set maximum authentication attempts
MaxAuthTries 3

# Set login timeout (seconds)
LoginGraceTime 30

# Disable X11 forwarding (if GUI is not needed)
X11Forwarding no

# Specify supported key exchange algorithms (remove weak ones)
KexAlgorithms curve25519-sha256,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org

# Specify supported encryption algorithms
Ciphers chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com,aes128-gcm@openssh.com

# Specify supported MAC algorithms
MACs hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com

# Set client alive check interval
ClientAliveInterval 300
ClientAliveCountMax 2

# Display last login information
PrintLastLog yes

Apply Configuration

Check the configuration syntax:

sudo sshd -t

If there is no output, the syntax is correct. Restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart sshd

SSH Configuration Best Practice Template

The following is a recommended complete security configuration:

# /etc/ssh/sshd_config security configuration
Port 2222

# Authentication settings
PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no
PermitEmptyPasswords no
ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
KbdInteractiveAuthentication no
PubkeyAuthentication yes
AuthorizedKeysFile .ssh/authorized_keys

# User control
AllowUsers admin deploy
MaxAuthTries 3
LoginGraceTime 30

# Security enhancements
X11Forwarding no
AllowTcpForwarding no
AllowAgentForwarding no

# Session management
ClientAliveInterval 300
ClientAliveCountMax 2

# Logging
LogLevel VERBOSE

# Algorithms
KexAlgorithms curve25519-sha256,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org
Ciphers chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com,aes128-gcm@openssh.com
MACs hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com

Install and Configure Fail2Ban

Fail2Ban monitors log files and automatically bans IP addresses with multiple authentication failures, making it an effective tool against brute-force attacks.

Install Fail2Ban

sudo dnf install epel-release -y
sudo dnf install fail2ban -y

Start the Service

sudo systemctl enable --now fail2ban

Configure Fail2Ban

Do not modify /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf directly. Instead, create a local override configuration:

sudo vi /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

Add the following configuration:

[DEFAULT]
# Ban duration (seconds), -1 for permanent ban
bantime = 3600

# Detection time window (seconds)
findtime = 600

# Maximum number of failures
maxretry = 3

# Ban action (using firewalld)
banaction = firewallcmd-rich-rules
banaction_allports = firewallcmd-rich-rules

# Notification email (optional)
destemail = admin@example.com
sender = fail2ban@example.com
action = %(action_mwl)s

[sshd]
enabled = true
port = 2222
logpath = /var/log/secure
backend = systemd
maxretry = 3
bantime = 3600

Note

If you changed the SSH port, the port in the Fail2Ban configuration must be updated accordingly. backend = systemd means logs are read from the systemd journal.

Restart Fail2Ban

sudo systemctl restart fail2ban

Check Fail2Ban Status

# Check overall status
sudo fail2ban-client status

# Check SSH jail details
sudo fail2ban-client status sshd

Example output:

Status for the jail: sshd
|- Filter
|  |- Currently failed: 2
|  |- Total failed:     15
|  `- File list:        /var/log/secure
`- Actions
   |- Currently banned: 1
   |- Total banned:     3
   `- Banned IP list:   203.0.113.50

Manage Banned IPs

# Manually unban an IP
sudo fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip 203.0.113.50

# Manually ban an IP
sudo fail2ban-client set sshd banip 203.0.113.100

# View all banned IPs
sudo fail2ban-client banned

Complete Hardening Workflow

1. Generate and deploy SSH keys:

   # Run on the client
   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "admin key"
   ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub admin@server_ip

2. After verifying key-based login works, harden the sshd configuration:

   # Run on the server
   sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.bak
   
   sudo tee /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/hardening.conf <<'EOF'
   Port 2222
   PermitRootLogin no
   PasswordAuthentication no
   PermitEmptyPasswords no
   ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
   MaxAuthTries 3
   LoginGraceTime 30
   AllowUsers admin
   X11Forwarding no
   ClientAliveInterval 300
   ClientAliveCountMax 2
   LogLevel VERBOSE
   EOF

3. Adjust SELinux and firewall:

   sudo semanage port -a -t ssh_port_t -p tcp 2222
   sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=2222/tcp
   sudo firewall-cmd --reload

4. Check the configuration and restart SSH:

   sudo sshd -t
   sudo systemctl restart sshd

5. Test the connection on the new port (keep the old session open):

   # Run in a new terminal
   ssh -p 2222 admin@server_ip

6. After confirming the new port works, close the old port:

   sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --remove-service=ssh
   sudo firewall-cmd --reload

7. Install and configure Fail2Ban:

   sudo dnf install epel-release fail2ban -y
   sudo tee /etc/fail2ban/jail.local <<'EOF'
   [DEFAULT]
   bantime = 3600
   findtime = 600
   maxretry = 3
   banaction = firewallcmd-rich-rules
   
   [sshd]
   enabled = true
   port = 2222
   backend = systemd
   EOF
   
   sudo systemctl enable --now fail2ban
   sudo fail2ban-client status sshd

After completing these steps, your SSH service will have multiple layers of protection: key-based authentication, a non-standard port, a user whitelist, and automatic banning of brute-force IPs. Using these measures together significantly improves server security.