The “SSH Too Many Authentication Failures” error occurs when the server receives multiple failed authentications in a short period of time. This error means that the server you are accessing has reached its authentication limit in a particular time frame. It is an important security protocol to protect the server from unauthorized access and other attacks. Although this is a server-side issue, it can sometimes occur due to client-side issues. However, many users do not know how to resolve the error and sometimes they lose access to the server. So, in this quick tutorial, we will describe various causes and methods to fix “SSH too many authentication failures” error in Linux.
How to Fix “Too Many SSH Authentication Failures” Error in Linux
In this section, we will explain the different methods that you can try to resolve the “SSH too many authentication failures” error in your system.
1. Check Login Credentials
The first thing you can do is to check and verify the login credentials. Multiple login attempts using incorrect credentials can sometimes cause the error. Alternatively, you can wait for a few minutes and try accessing SSH again. This helps reset authentication to the SSH server.
2. Restart the SSH Service
The first thing you can do is restart the SSH service as this clears the current sessions and restarts them. All you need to do is run the following command to restart the SSH service:
sudo systemctl restart ssh
Additionally, you can also stop and restart the service by running the following commands:
sudo systemctl stop sshd
sudo systemctl start sshd
3. Change the value in “.ssh/config”
You can resolve the error by modifying the “.ssh/config” file. Here, you only need to modify IdentitiesOnly as it replaces SSH for specific identity file authentication. These identity files are typically configured in the “ssh_config” file. So, first run the following command to open the “.ssh/config” file in the Nano editor:
In this configuration file, change IdentitiesOnly to “yes”.
Once you're done, try accessing the SSH server again. If everything goes well then you can access it easily.
conclusion
This way you can easily solve “SSH Too Many Authentication Failures” error in Linux without any hassle. Although we have explained several methods, if none of them work, you can use a different username or disable the firewall from the system. If any procedure does not work, we recommend contacting the SSH server administrator to resolve the error.
