AWS Ubuntu: Add a User with Password Login

AWS Ubuntu: Add a User with Password Login

Create a new Ubuntu user, enable SSH password login, manage group access, and control sudo and shell permissions.

Security: Prefer SSH keys for production servers. Never publish real passwords or AWS credentials.

1. Create User

sudo adduser devteam

Set a strong password when Ubuntu asks for it.

2. Add Required Groups

sudo usermod -aG www-data devteam sudo usermod -aG ubuntu devteam sudo usermod -aG sudo devteam

Check the groups:

groups devteam

3. Enable SSH Password Login

Back up the SSH configuration first:

sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config-bkp

Edit the SSH configuration:

sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Make sure this is enabled:

PasswordAuthentication yes

For normal user administration, direct root SSH login is not required. A safer setting is:

PermitRootLogin no

4. Check AWS Ubuntu SSH Settings

Also check:

sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/60-cloudimg-settings.conf

If it contains:

PasswordAuthentication no

change it to:

PasswordAuthentication yes

5. Restart SSH

sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl restart ssh

Keep your current SSH session open and test a second connection before closing it.

6. Check SSH Port

sudo ss -tulpn | grep ssh

7. Test the New User

From another machine:

ssh devteam@SERVER_IP

Enter the password created for devteam.

8. Remove Sudo Access

sudo gpasswd -d devteam sudo groups devteam

9. Remove or Restore Shell Access

Disable interactive shell:

sudo usermod -s /usr/sbin/nologin devteam getent passwd devteam

Restore Bash:

sudo usermod -s /bin/bash devteam

10. Force Password Change

sudo chage -d 0 devteam

Quick Examples

File access only:

sudo usermod -aG www-data devteam sudo gpasswd -d devteam sudo

Administrator access:

sudo usermod -aG sudo devteam

No interactive shell:

sudo usermod -s /usr/sbin/nologin devteam

Complete Command Reference

Quick reference for the main commands used in this tutorial.

User & Groups

# Create user
sudo adduser devteam

# Add web-server group
sudo usermod -aG www-data devteam

# Add Ubuntu group
sudo usermod -aG ubuntu devteam

# Add sudo access
sudo usermod -aG sudo devteam

# Check groups
groups devteam

# Remove sudo access
sudo gpasswd -d devteam sudo

Shell Access

# Disable shell
sudo usermod -s /usr/sbin/nologin devteam

# Check account
getent passwd devteam

# Restore Bash
sudo usermod -s /bin/bash devteam

Password

# Force password change at next login
sudo chage -d 0 devteam

SSH

# Back up SSH configuration
sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config-bkp

# Edit SSH configuration
sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# Restart SSH
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart ssh

# Check SSH listener
sudo ss -tulpn | grep ssh

Security Notes

• Prefer SSH key authentication on production servers.
• Do not enable direct root SSH login unless specifically required.
• Give users only the groups they need.
• Do not publish real passwords in tutorials or repositories.

Conclusion

With adduser, usermod, gpasswd, and chage, you can quickly create and manage Ubuntu users on AWS.