13: OCI‐ Enabling Password‐Based Access to an OCI Instance - pavankumarchittajallu/OCI_DOC GitHub Wiki

Step-by-Step Process for Enabling Password-Based Access to an OCI Instance

1. Connect via SSH with a Private Key (Initial Access)

• Initially, OCI Linux instances are set up for SSH key-based authentication, not password-based logins. Use your SSH private key to connect to the instance for the first time. Step 1 : Open putty Open Putty App Paste the public IP under the session category.

2. Enable Password Authentication in SSH Configuration

• Edit the SSH configuration file:

  sudo vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
  

• Find the line:

  PasswordAuthentication no
  

  and change it to:

  PasswordAuthentication yes
  

• Also, ensure the following line is set:

  ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
  

• Save and exit the editor.

3. Restart the SSH Service

• Apply the changes by restarting the SSH daemon:

  sudo systemctl restart sshd
  

  or

  sudo service sshd restart
  

  depending on your Linux distribution.

4. Set or Reset the User Password

• Set a password for the user (e.g., opc):

  sudo passwd opc
  

• Enter and confirm the new password when prompted.

5. (Optional) Create a New User with a Password

• If you prefer, create a new user:

  sudo useradd myuser
  sudo passwd myuser
  

  Set a password as prompted.

6. Test Password-Based SSH Login

• From your local machine, connect using:

  ssh opc@
  

• Enter the password when prompted. You should now be able to log in using a password instead of a private key.