Enable SSH root login on Ubuntu

To bypass the standard SSH login procedure, which requires logging in as a regular user before gaining root access, you can modify the SSH configuration to allow direct root logins. This tutorial details how to enable this functionality on Ubuntu 20.04 Server/Desktop. SSH itself provides secure network services like remote command-line access.

In this tutorial you will learn:

How to enable root access to SSH
How to restart SSH service

Step 1: Open the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file with administrative privileges and change the following line:

FROM:
#PermitRootLogin prohibit-password
TO:
PermitRootLogin yes

Step 2: Restart SSH service:

$ sudo systemctl restart ssh