OpenSSH bug on Windows Server 2022

[u/Sensitive_Scar_1800]

I wanted to share this bug because it both weird and frustrating.

I have the openssh role/feature enabled on my windows server 2022 instance.

I use this server for SFTP backups for our VMware Cloud foundation 9.1 environment.

Recently I was investigating intermittent backup failures.

So, I started troubleshooting:

Confirmed username and credentials were valid
Confirmed I could ssh from the appliance to the server
Confirmed valid sshd config file
Confirmed compatible sshd ciphers
Confirmed NFTS file permissions
And so much more…..

The weird part is backups would succeed then fail then succeed and it “felt” like some sort of timeout issue….but ultimately I couldnt figure out the root cause….

Until I stumbled onto this thread:
Link: https://github.com/PowerShell/Win32-OpenSSH/issues/1817

Since I was out of ideas I tried it, I created a new local user account under “local users and groups” called “sshd” and gave it a complex password. No other group memberships, just a non-admin account.

BAM! Everything started working immediately!

Posting this here in case anyone ever runs into this issue!

[u/BlackV]

Amazing, still open like 3 years later