SSH Stopped Working

[JGrubbs]

SSH was working fine all last week, then on Friday afternoon when I tried to login I started getting this error message in PuTTY:

Network error: Connection refused

When I try to restart SSH in WHM I get this error:

Sep 18 12:55:32 cpanel sshd: Stopping sshd failed Sep 18 12:55:32 cpanel sshd: /usr/sbin/sshd: /usr/sbin/sshd: cannot execute binary file Sep 18 12:55:32 cpanel sshd: failed sshd has failed, please contact the sysadmin.

And when I try the autofixer (/scripts2/doautofixer?autofix=safesshrestart) I get this error:

Requesting script ...

Done.

Executing script ...

Killing exisiting sshd processes... done!
Found sshd binary: /usr/sbin/sshd
configuring sshd to run on port 22
sshd failed..

Done.

Should I try re-installing SSHd? I'm not sure what could have caused it to stop working.

 

[dalem]

sounds like you may have had ssh configured on a different port

if so the restart ssh in WHM will not wrok

 

[jayh38]

Try restarting ssh , after running the script to set it back to 22, it may not have restarted.
Also, check your firewall and be sure port22 is listed. Are you getting red lights for the services?

 

[JGrubbs]

I have never had it configured to run on a different port. As I stated, it was working fine all last week, then just stopped working on Friday. Not sure what could have caused it.

When I try to restart SSHd at the terminal I get this error: "cannot execute binary file".

I don't see SSHd listed in the "Service Status" screen.

 

[JGrubbs]

I have tried everything I can think of, I am open to any sugestions.

 

[mohit]

Re:

hi,
i think you need to ask your server provider to contact the Datacenter and get the root pass reseted. They can connect to your box and change the password if password is the cause

.

Oh sorry i mis-understood your problem, i think you need to ask your server provider to help you out of it, they can take care of this pretty well.


see ya,
mohit

 

[JGrubbs]

We have this server at our location in our server room, so there is no Data Center involved. I opened a support ticket with cPanel, they have sent me some suggestions via email, but that is about all they can do since they don't have access to the server, since SSH is down.

I have verified that the openssh RPM's are installed using
rpm -qa | grep openssh

But when I try to run up2date to install or update openssh it just says that the package is already updated.

 

[chirpy]

If you have direct access to the server then you could try logging in through the console serial port and looking into why sshd isn't working from there.

 

[chris74108]

netstat -alnp | grep 22

see if anything is bound to port 22

 

[JGrubbs]

If you have direct access to the server then you could try logging in through the console serial port and looking into why sshd isn't working from there.

When I try to restart SSHd at the terminal I get this error: "cannot execute binary file".

 

[chris74108]

What is this box running?

 

[JGrubbs]

WHM 10.8.0 cPanel 10.8.2-R119
RedHat Enterprise 4 x86_64 - WHM X v3.1.0

 

[chirpy]

It runs the rpms from your OS vendor, i.e. RedHat.

I'd suggest removing the openssh rpms:

rpm -qa | grep openssh

Then use rpm -e to remove those, e.g.:

rpm -e openssh openssh-server openssh-clients --nodeps

Then move /etc/ssh out of the way:

mv /etc/ssh /etc/sshold

Then reinstall SSH:

up2date -ui openssh openssh-server openssh-clients

 

[JGrubbs]

Does cPanel run a special patched version of openssh, or can I just install the version from the openssh site without messing anything up?

 

[chris74108]

I was going to suggest you do exactly what Chirpy told you to do. I strongly recommend you take his advise.

 

[JGrubbs]

Thanks Jonathan!!!

I followed your instructions and everything seems to be working great now!!

I sent your URL to our I.T. Director and recommended we purchase your server services for all of our future servers.

I can't thank you enough!!

 

[chris74108]

Thanks Jonathan!!!

I followed your instructions and everything seems to be working great now!!

I sent your URL to our I.T. Director and recommended we purchase your server services for all of our future servers.

I can't thank you enough!!

I have been reading posts on these forums for years. In that period of time I have never read anything bad about him (Chirpy). He is a very talented individual who really knows his stuff. If something goes wrong on my servers I usually come here and use the search feature to find the answer.
Usually when I find a answer its coming from him and it usually works.
I would recommend his services to anyone.

Thanks for everything you do Jonathan.