vsftpd: 530 Login incorrect

Question

I can't get vsfptd working on Ubuntu 12.04.

my vsftpd.conf file looks like this, and I try to connect with a local user:

listen=YES
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
dirmessage_enable=YES
use_localtime=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
connect_from_port_20=YES
secure_chroot_dir=/var/run/vsftpd/empty
pam_service_name=vsftpd
rsa_cert_file=/etc/ssl/private/vsftpd.pem

Error message in FileZilla:

Response:   331 Please specify the password.
Command:    PASS ****
Response:   530 Login incorrect.

try restarting the vsftpd. >sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd restart I had the same issue, but this worked for me. — node_analyser, Jan 31 '14 at 18:10
Another thing to check : what is the login shell for the user. is that shell present in /etc/shells — , Apr 22 '15 at 03:12
For me, there was just wrong format for the user in /etc/passwd - i needed to set the right home dir, shell, and the ,,, part. — Hannes Schneidermayer, Apr 19 '17 at 16:15

score 132 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

132

Back up the config file before making a change;

sudo cp /etc/vsftpd.conf /etc/vsftpd.conf.back

and then edit vsftpd.conf (with vi or nano)

nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

Then make the following change

pam_service_name=ftp

Save your change and restart the ftp server (if you use nano hit CTRL+O & enter to save then CTRL+X to exit)

sudo service vsftpd restart

Source: VSFTPD configuration problems with 12.04

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

Community

1

answered Jan 31 '14 at 18:35

AzkerM

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3

This problem also, can be solved in debian7 by this answer. – shgnInc Feb 01 '15 at 07:36
1

What is the rationale behind this one? – Joost Aug 20 '15 at 21:08
18

You are disabling default access control via PAM, because default "ftp" has no rules. The default pam_service_name=vsftp uses the file /etc/pam.d/vsftpd. This file by default requires FTP users to have a shell listed in /etc/shells and requires them not to be listed in /etc/ftpusers. – Jeroen Vermeulen Sep 04 '15 at 14:41
Solved me the same problem on Ubuntu 14.04. Thanks! – Rotem Oct 11 '15 at 10:23
3

@JeroenVermeulenBVBA +1 you are right. I fear some people just don't know what's actually happening underneath and why it appears to "work". – Stphane Dec 07 '16 at 14:32
This solved my problem on Ubuntu 14.04 too ! I wish I understood why but thanks anyway ! – Mouradif Apr 21 '17 at 17:46
Wow,Wroked!. It amazing error can you give me description? – A1Gard Jul 31 '17 at 18:35
Oh well thanks for this! It's no longer stated in the current Ubuntu Server Guide (17.4)... – Mark Sep 04 '17 at 23:00
Please look at the comment from @JeroenVermeulen-MageHost – Uwe Plonus Apr 08 '21 at 13:24

score 20 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 04 '15 at 14:45

20

By default vsFTPd uses the file /etc/pam.d/vsftpd. This file by default requires FTP users to have a shell listed in /etc/shells and requires them not to be listed in /etc/ftpusers. If you check those 2 things your probably find what the problem is.

answered Sep 04 '15 at 14:45

Jeroen Vermeulen

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I think this should be the accept answer because it points out where is the problem. – PhoneixS Sep 26 '18 at 11:18
How does one make sure the FTP user has one of these shells? Asking for a friend... – Allen May 19 '20 at 00:32
1

@Allen This is defined in the file /etc/passwd. Each line is the info about one user. The fields are separated by a colon (:). The 7th field contains the path to the shell binary of the user. – Jeroen Vermeulen May 20 '20 at 07:56
2

Apart from editing the passwd file directly, you can use usermod -s /bin/bash YOUR_USERNAME – Raptor Oct 28 '20 at 09:41

score 9 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:31

9

I did not need to change the vsftpd.conf. Only needed to make sure that a shell was set in my /etc/passwd file, that also was lited in /etc/shells.

So basically after useradd without a shell I needed to make sure the home directory was created and that the user had /bin/bash as it's shell.

edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:31

galoget

2,963

answered Oct 31 '15 at 11:49

Duncan

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Thanks that's what happened to me. The other solutions worked by removing all safety mechanisms, this one was actually solved the problem. – VinGarcia May 02 '18 at 00:56

score 5 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:32

5

I met this problem when I tried to login in with root and I just solved it.

vsftpd: version 3.0.2

Solution:

Check the following file (it contains list of users disallowed FTP access):

/etc/ftpusers

In my case, I commented out root from the file, then it worked.

edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:32

galoget

2,963

answered Dec 03 '15 at 08:27

I did same to be able to login as root, but didn't worked – VISHAL DAGA Apr 07 '19 at 04:08
1

Not a good idea to enable thoses users! There is a security reason why they are refused. – MUY Belgium Nov 29 '19 at 17:01

score 3 · Answer 5 · edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:34

3

Please make some changes in /etc/vsftpd.conf:

pam_service_name=ftp

If you want to set access by default /var/www directory for local user you can do that with below line:

local_root=/var/www

Now save and exit.

Restart vsftpd server using:

sudo service vsftpd restart

edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:34

galoget

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answered Sep 07 '15 at 09:05

Jayesh Kalkani

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This is the same as a previous answer, and as someone already commented there it’s not a good idea. – bfontaine Feb 21 '22 at 17:10

score 2 · Answer 6 · edited May 06 '15 at 06:16

The suggested resolution did not work for me. I gave up on the ftp user, and switched my attention to the ubuntu user. I made sure there was a password associated with the ubuntu user.

I made sure to enable passive mode, and set local_enable=YES in the vsftpd.conf file.

I was able to authenticate just fine using the ubuntu account. And I successfully uploaded a large file to my Amazon Ubuntu FTP server. Clearly there was something amiss with the ftp user.

score 0 · Answer 7 · edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:33

0

I used Ubuntu 18.04 and LetsEncrypt certificates for TLS encryption. What worked was changing the name of the pam_service_name=ftp the error I was getting in Filezilla was:

"GnuTLS error -15": An unexpected TLS packet was received.

Reference: FTPS set up in ubuntu 18.04

edited Jul 25 '21 at 23:33

galoget

2,963

answered Aug 27 '19 at 05:37

Andre Leon Rangel

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vsftpd: 530 Login incorrect

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