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OSSEC / HIDS Rule 5720

OSSEC / HIDS rule catalog

  • Rule family: OSSEC / HIDS
  • Rule ID: 5720
  • Definition status: Present in current source
  • Alert message / subject: Multiple SSHD authentication failures.
  • Rule level: 10
  • Definition checked: 2026-10-21
  • Configured frequency: 7

Correlation values are configuration attributes; event-count behavior depends on the manager version and parent rules.

Interpretation and response

This event is recorded as “Multiple SSHD authentication failures.” Review the originating log and the affected host or service to determine whether the activity was expected.

An OSSEC/HIDS event records or correlates activity. Blocking depends on the originating application and any separately configured Active Response policy; an alert alone does not prove that an attack was blocked.

Documentation

The following guidance was migrated from the historical wiki and reviewed against the rule definition. Legacy ASL product names and interface instructions refer to the versions documented then. Use the current metadata above and your installed configuration when interpreting thresholds, notification settings and response behavior.

Description

This rule detects multiple failed attempts to log into sshd. This may indicate that an attacker is carrying out a brute force attack.

Troubleshooting

False Positives

A legitimate event may still trigger this rule. Review the surrounding activity before deciding whether it is malicious. If you believe this is a false positive, please report this to our security team to determine if this is a legitimate case, or if its clever attack on your system. Do not disable this rule.

Instructions to report false positives are detailed on the Reporting False Positives documentation page. If it is a false positive, we will fix the issue in the rules and get a release out to you promptly.

Source and revision

Migrated from HIDS_5720, wiki page 709, revision 6044 (20200812). Documentation review: 2026-10-21. An archived wiki status of Active is not a current deployment status.

For assistance, provide the rule ID, installed product and rule version, and a sanitized event to Atomicorp support .