Unable to access via SSH after install

[s4v0h34d]

My YunoHost server

Hardware: Dedicated Server AR6-32 - 6 Core x 3.6 GHz (AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3600) - RAM: 32 GB - SSD: 2 x 480 GB Software RAID 1
YunoHost version: 11.2.24
I have access to my server : Through the webadmin
Are you in a special context or did you perform some particular tweaking on your YunoHost instance ? : no

Description of my issue

Hi, sorry to bother you for something I’m probably doing wrong, in some way, but I’ve tried several times and I don’t get what I’m doing wrong.
I installed Yunohost on several different structures, and every time I followed the same instructions:

• apt install curl ca-certificates curl https://install.yunohost.org | bash
• chose “Yes” and “No” to the following questions during the install process (the default answers)
• tried to login via web interface for the postinstall routine

Here I experienced the same issue twice on this machine.
I start the postinstall process and I set my password.
In the login page after this process, I’m not able to login with my username and password. I have to refresh the page or reload from the url bar. But after that, my user and pass work.
The bigger problem is when I try to connect via SSH: usually the root user gets the admin password (having chosen the default options during installation) and I can login. But on this machine I’m not able to login as root with the new password I chose. And the strangest thing is: i cannot login through ssh even with the admin account I created during the postinstall process.
So I’m able to access Yunohost’s user interface with my admin user and pass, but when I try to access the server through SSH my admin user is recognized, but the password doesn’t work and I get an “Access denied” message.
Sorry again and thanks for every possible help on this
s

[tituspijean]

To summarize, after postinstall

• you can log in the webadmin with your personal account
• you cannot log in with SSH as root (that’s normal if you are not on the same local network as your server)
• you cannot log in with SSH as your personal account (that is not normal)

Does the Diagnosis page report anything wrong with SSH or connectivity? Have you allowed YunoHost to alter the SSH config during the installation?

[s4v0h34d]

Thanks @tituspijean , your summary is correct.
here’s the diagnosis SSH part:

as you can see it says that it appears to have been manually modified, but I never had access to the server, so I couldn’t be able to modify any file after installaion.
During installation I followed the same guide I always follow and that says:

When prompted to overwrite configuration files and allow YunoHost to reconfigure SSH, choose the default options (Yes and No, respectively).

[tituspijean]

There might have been a mishap here, let’s try to regenerate the configuration, can you perform the first command of the Diagnosis warning and share its output here?

[s4v0h34d]

That’s the problem, I cannot access via SSH, so I cannot perform any action on the server terminal.

[jarod5001]

Can you try to add a new user and add it to the admins group? Try sshing with the new user

[tituspijean]

If jarod’s suggestion does not work, try installing a web-based terminal emulator like Wetty.

[s4v0h34d]

Thanks, creating a new user and putting it into admins, worked (sorry for the late reply, I was working and I’m about to go to bed, but I wanted to try this, in order to give you the results). Here’s what I get when I perform yunohost tools regen-conf ssh --dry-run --with-diff

Let me know if I have to force the reset to recommended configuration or not, I’ll do it first thing in the morning. Thanks and sorry again.

[jarod5001]

Did you use ‘admin’ as first user?

[s4v0h34d]

sorry, I don’t understand the question.
If you’re asking if I called “admin” the first user I created while installing, the answer is NO.
I created the second one, the one you suggested to create and add to admins, with a name that contains “admin”, but I created it just for this purpose.
If you’re asking something different, let me know. I’m sorry, but I’m a newbie.
Thanks again

PS. let me know if I have to force the recommended configuration

[jarod5001]

@s4v0h34d

If you’re asking if I called “admin” the first user

Yes, I noticed that some users were complaining about not being able to ssh when they were using “admin” as username.
Anyway, you can make a copy of your sshd_config file and force the regen.
Since you didn’t modify it yourself, I would say it should be reset to what yunohost wants.
In my servers, I prefer letting yunohost manage everything so it’s coherent and easy to understand.

[s4v0h34d]

finally!
Thank you so much!
Now I can login with my usual account via SSH.
Really, really strange. I didn’t manually changed the file that appeared manually changed.
But thank you, everything’s fine and diagnosis gives a green flag.