sudo sed -i 's/^#MaxAuthTries.*/MaxAuthTries 3/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Limit SSH authentication attempts to three
MaxAuthTries 3 cuts the number of failed auth attempts before the connection is dropped, slowing brute-force guessing at the daemon level (fail2ban handles repeat offenders at the firewall). Each attempt can also be a key offer, so generous key agents can hit the limit. Re-test after applying.
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