Public bug reported: I have a system where the default listening port is changed for sshd, done at the bottom of my sshd_config. I recently changed the ListenAddress from its default (unset, which listens on all interfaces) to bind to a specific IP. The resulting relevant snippet of my sshd_config was:
ListenAddress my_ip_here Port 12345 I then restarted ssh with /etc/init.d/ssh restart and found that ssh was not listening. Re-reading the manpage, I see this: ListenAddress Specifies the local addresses sshd(8) should listen on. The fol‐ lowing forms may be used: ListenAddress host|IPv4_addr|IPv6_addr ListenAddress host|IPv4_addr:port ListenAddress [host|IPv6_addr]:port If port is not specified, sshd will listen on the address and all prior Port options specified. The default is to listen on all local addresses. Multiple ListenAddress options are permitted. Additionally, any Port options must precede this option for non- port qualified addresses. On a hunch, I remove the Port line and simply change my relevant config to: ListenAddress my_ip_here:12345 sshd then restarted just fine. In looking at the logs, I see: Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.954263] init: ssh main process (26655) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.954277] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.957687] init: ssh main process (26658) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.957703] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.961094] init: ssh main process (26661) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.961115] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.964835] init: ssh main process (26664) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.964852] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.968028] init: ssh main process (26667) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.968043] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.971004] init: ssh main process (26670) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.971021] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.974044] init: ssh main process (26673) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.974087] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.977853] init: ssh main process (26676) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.977868] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.980928] init: ssh main process (26679) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.980944] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.984059] init: ssh main process (26682) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.984075] init: ssh main process ended, respawning Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.987118] init: ssh main process (26685) terminated with status 255 Dec 1 11:40:26 jhart-laptop kernel: [1207947.987132] init: ssh respawning too fast, stopped ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04 Package: openssh-server 1:5.9p1-5ubuntu1.7 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-66.108~precise1-generic 3.13.11-ckt27 Uname: Linux 3.13.0-66-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.13 Architecture: amd64 Date: Tue Dec 1 11:54:42 2015 InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20140807) MarkForUpload: True ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, no user) LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/zsh SourcePackage: openssh UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) ** Affects: openssh (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Tags: amd64 apport-bug precise running-unity -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1521745 Title: sshd will fail to start or restart if non-default Port option is incorrectly put after a non-default ListenAddress To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/openssh/+bug/1521745/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs