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On most Linux servers, failed SSH password attempts are recorded either by systemd-journald or by the syslog AUTH facility. Follow them live with sudo journalctl -fu ssh.service, or inspect Debian and Ubuntu text logs in /var/log/auth.log. If normal records do not include enough detail, verify the effective SSH configuration and temporarily raise LogLevel to VERBOSE.
Where failed SSH attempts are recorded
The logging backend depends on the distribution and its service configuration. A host may use journald, traditional syslog files, or both. OpenSSH normally sends authentication events to the AUTH facility at INFO level. Ubuntu’s community documentation describes INFO as the default and recommends VERBOSE when failed-login details are required.
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| Backend | Typical way to read it | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| systemd-journald | sudo journalctl -fu ssh.service |
Live and historical service messages, subject to journal retention |
| Syslog text file | /var/log/auth.log on Debian and Ubuntu |
AUTH-facility messages written by the system logger |
| PAM failure accounting | Distribution-specific pam_faillock records and files |
Persistent per-user failure state, rather than only SSH connection events |
| Audit subsystem | Audit searches for USER_LOGIN records with res=failed |
Security-audit events that can be correlated with other system activity |
Service-unit names, file locations, PAM stack order and retention policies differ between distributions. Do not assume that a command or path from one Linux family exists unchanged on another.
Quick procedure: view failed SSH passwords now
- Follow the SSH journal: run
sudo journalctl -fu ssh.service. Leave the command running, then make a controlled test connection from another terminal or host. New SSH messages should appear as they are emitted. - Check the text log when present: on Debian- and Ubuntu-style systems, inspect
/var/log/auth.log. For example, search the file forFailed password,authentication failureandInvalid user. - Record the source details: a usual sshd message includes the attempted account name, source address, source port and protocol, such as
Failed password for USER from ADDRESS port PORT ssh2. - Correlate PAM messages: an SSH failure may be accompanied by
pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure. Treat the sshd and PAM lines as related evidence, not necessarily as two independent attempts.
Message wording changes with the OpenSSH, PAM and distribution versions. Search by several phrases rather than relying on one exact line.
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Check the effective sshd configuration first
The file you remember editing is not always the final configuration: included drop-ins and distribution defaults can change the effective value. Ask the running configuration parser for the settings that control logging and authentication:
sudo sshd -T | grep -E '^(loglevel|syslogfacility|maxauthtries|passwordauthentication|usepam)'
This displays the effective LogLevel, logging facility, connection-attempt limit, password-authentication state and PAM integration state. The OpenSSH manual defines the available logging levels and documents INFO as the default.
loglevel: determines how much sshd writes.syslogfacility: identifies the syslog facility used when syslog routing is enabled; AUTH is the normal authentication facility described by Ubuntu documentation.maxauthtries: limits authentication attempts on one connection.passwordauthentication: tells you whether password authentication is enabled in the effective configuration.usepam: indicates whether PAM participates in authentication and therefore whether PAM messages or account controls can affect the result.
Increase SSH logging to capture failed-attempt details
Use VERBOSE for a short diagnostic period
If INFO-level records do not show the detail you need, set LogLevel VERBOSE in /etc/ssh/sshd_config or in the applicable included drop-in. Ubuntu’s community guidance specifically recommends VERBOSE for recording more information, including failed login attempts.
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- Edit the active SSH server configuration or its distribution-supported drop-in.
- Add or change the directive to
LogLevel VERBOSE. - Validate syntax before applying it:
sudo sshd -t. A successful check produces no error output; fix any reported problem before reloading. - Reload the SSH service through the host’s service manager. Use the service unit name used by that distribution, commonly the same
ssh.serviceunit followed by the manager’s reload operation. - Repeat a safe test and watch the journal or authentication log for the additional records.
Reloading normally preserves existing sessions while causing new connections to use the validated configuration. Keep an existing administrative session open until the test succeeds, so a configuration mistake does not remove your only access path.
Avoid DEBUG as a permanent setting
DEBUG levels are intended for narrowly scoped troubleshooting. The Ubuntu sshd_config(5) manual warns that DEBUG logging violates user privacy and is not recommended. Extra detail can also increase log volume and expose information that ordinary operational monitoring does not require. Return to the normal level after the investigation and confirm the effective value again with sshd -T.
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Interpret a failed-password line
A line such as Failed password for alice from 203.0.113.8 port 49210 ssh2 indicates that sshd rejected a password authentication attempt for the named account. The fields identify the attempted user, source address, source port and SSH protocol.
Failed password for invalid user alice from ADDRESS port PORT ssh2 (or a similar variant) indicates that the account was not recognized locally. Exact punctuation and wording vary, so retain the timestamp and surrounding lines when investigating.
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Interpret PAM authentication failures
A PAM line such as pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure records a failure reported by the PAM authentication stage. It may appear beside an sshd “Failed password” event. PAM modules can add account lockout, policy or audit information that sshd itself does not express in one line.
Search by user or source address
To investigate repeated attempts, filter the journal or authentication file for the account name, source address and the phrases Failed password, authentication failure and Invalid user. Count events only after checking timestamps and connection context; retries, parallel connections and related PAM lines can otherwise make one attempt look like several.
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MaxAuthTries is not a permanent per-user failure counter. It limits authentication attempts within one SSH connection. The current Ubuntu Jammy manual gives a default of 6. Once failures reach half that value, additional failures are logged. With the default, that means logging begins after the connection has accumulated three failed attempts, while the connection can continue until the configured limit is reached.
The setting answers “how many tries can this connection make?” It does not answer “how many bad passwords has this account entered across all connections?” For the latter, use PAM failure accounting or audit data when those facilities are configured.
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Track persistent per-user failures with pam_faillock
pam_faillock adds account-level failure accounting through PAM stages. A distribution may invoke it during preauth, after a failed authentication with authfail, and after a successful authentication with authsucc. This lets administrators maintain failure state for a user across separate SSH connections, unlike MaxAuthTries.
Supported options include:
audit, which records failures for auditing;silent, which suppresses selected user-facing messages;no_log_info, which controls informational logging; andlocal_users_only, which limits accounting to local users.
Exact file locations, reset procedures and PAM stack placement are distribution-specific. Inspect the host’s PAM configuration and documentation before changing it. Incorrect ordering can prevent successful logins or make the counter behave differently from the intended policy. A faillock record is also not proof that every event was a bad password: account policy, expired credentials and other PAM decisions can contribute to an authentication failure.
Use audit records when you need security-grade correlation
On systems running the Linux audit framework, investigate authentication events using USER_LOGIN records and select entries whose result is res=failed. Audit data can be correlated with timestamps, account names, addresses and other security events, but its availability and retention depend on the host’s audit configuration. Do not assume that the absence of an audit record means sshd produced no failure; the journal or AUTH log may still contain the event.
Choosing the right source for the question
| Question | Best evidence | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| What is failing right now? | Live journald follow or the current AUTH log | Only retained messages are available; wording differs by release |
| Which address is trying a password? | sshd “Failed password” records | One connection can generate several attempts |
| How many tries were made in one connection? | MaxAuthTries behavior and sshd events |
It is scoped to a connection, not a durable user history |
| Has one account failed across many connections? | pam_faillock state |
Only available and meaningful when the PAM stack is configured for it |
| Can the event be tied to a broader security investigation? | Audit USER_LOGIN entries with res=failed |
Depends on audit rules and retention |
Troubleshoot missing or incomplete entries
The journal follow command is empty
- Confirm the service unit name; some distributions use a different SSH unit label.
- Start the command before reproducing the failure so you can distinguish a live event from an old, retained message.
- Run the effective-configuration check and verify that
LogLevelis not suppressing the detail you expect. - Check whether the host routes AUTH messages to a text file instead of, or in addition to, journald.
/var/log/auth.log does not exist
That path is characteristic of Debian and Ubuntu configurations, not a universal Linux location. Use the distribution’s secure/auth log or journal instead, and verify the configured syslog facility. A missing file does not establish that SSH logging is disabled.
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You see PAM failures but no “Failed password” line
Inspect the complete timestamp window and the effective LogLevel. PAM may report the authentication failure while sshd’s message is routed elsewhere or filtered at the current level. Temporary VERBOSE logging can clarify the relationship; validate and reload the configuration before testing.
Counts seem higher than the number of login attempts
One password attempt can produce an sshd event plus a PAM event. A client may also open multiple connections, and MaxAuthTries allows several attempts within each connection. Correlate timestamps, user names, source addresses and connection boundaries before counting.
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- Keep an authenticated administrative session open while changing SSH logging.
- Determine whether journald, syslog, or both are active.
- Capture the effective values with
sudo sshd -Tbefore editing files. - Use INFO for routine operation and VERBOSE only for a defined diagnostic window.
- Run
sudo sshd -tbefore every reload. - Search several message patterns and preserve timestamps, account names and source addresses.
- Use
MaxAuthTriesto understand one connection, not as a persistent account counter. - Use
pam_faillockor audit records when the investigation requires per-user history or security correlation. - Restore the normal logging level after troubleshooting and verify the effective setting.
What the logs cannot tell you by themselves
SSH records show that an authentication decision failed and usually identify the attempted account and source address. They do not, by themselves, prove who controlled that address, why the password failed, or whether the same person made later attempts from another address. Retention is controlled by journald, syslog, PAM and audit policies, so older events may no longer be available. Treat the records as time-stamped technical evidence and combine them with the relevant account, network and audit context.
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