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I followed this guide to set up ssh key on my digital ocean droplet, but since I made step 4 my file system went read-only. I changed /etc/ssh/sshd_config from PermitRootLogin yes to PermitRootLogin without-password and then reload ssh; and when I logged back in, I had no writing rights anymore.

I can log in using ssh root@123.45.67.89 but it does not ask me for any password, and I can not modify any file.

Before doing this, I upgraded my ubuntu from 12.04 to 14.04, it asked me during the upgrade which setting did I want for PermitRootLogin and when I looked at /etc/ssh/sshd_config after the installation (and after adding my ssh key) it was set on PermitRootLogin yes.

--- update ---

After reading this answer I ran dmesg | grep "EXT4-fs error" to see if I have any issues related to the filesystem / journaling system itself.

It returned many times:

[68241.757233] EXT4-fs error (device vda): htree_dirblock_to_tree:892: inode #533953: block 2108070: comm updatedb.mlocat: bad entry in directory: rec_len is smaller than minimal - offset=0(0), inode=0, rec_len=0, name_len=0

What should I do?

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arthur.sw
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  • I ran dmesg | grep "EXT4-fs error" to see if I have any issues related to the filesystem / journaling system itself. I returned many time:

    [68241.757233] EXT4-fs error (device vda): htree_dirblock_to_tree:892: inode #533953: block 2108070: comm updatedb.mlocat: bad entry in directory: rec_len is smaller than minimal - offset=0(0), inode=0, rec_len=0, name_len=0

    What does it mean?

     – arthur.sw Dec 04 '14 at 14:09
  • Looks like you have filesystem errors and need to run fsck to fix them. What kind of device is a "digital ocean droplet"? Can you boot a Live CD on it, or at least boot it in single-user mode? – fkraiem Dec 04 '14 at 14:24
  • digitalocean provide servers on which you have what they called "droplets". At first you connect to them with a password they send by email, and then you are (obviously) strongly advised to either change your password or set an ssh key. – arthur.sw Dec 04 '14 at 14:29
  • Your filesystem has errors. Boot into rescue mode and fsck it. – psusi Dec 04 '14 at 14:41

1 Answers1

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You must setup root password:

sudo passwd

Then restart the ssh service:

sudo service ssh reload

Note: permitting root access especially without password is quite dangerous it makes your system highly vulnerable to external threats.

Ashraf Abusada
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  • I rebooted, it asked me if I want to solve some problems, saying yes solved them. I set a new password as you advised (sudo passwd and sudo service ssh reload), but I can still log in without any password. I still have PermitRootLogin without-password. – arthur.sw Dec 04 '14 at 17:04
  • Use this command to re-assign password to root access: sudo passwd root set new password to root, if the new password is accepted. try su root and see if you are asked for password to root. – Ashraf Abusada Dec 04 '14 at 20:22
  • Thanks! I think it did not ask for my password because I only need to enter it once per session. Problem solved! – arthur.sw Dec 05 '14 at 10:12