Hi all,

I have created a chroot but I would like to let users be able to ssh to other devices from the chroot folder.

Is this possible, if so are there any suggestions or guides for this?

What is the context? If they are coming into the chroot via SSH then all you need is for them to use -J on the client to specify the intermediate machine.

That should work even if the ForceCommand directive is set for that account.

In an ideal situation I would agree but we would like users to use this method of first logging in. When trying to invoke SSH I get this output:

Don't log in as root. Use a normal account.

Please write a bit more about what you are trying to do and how root has accidentally become involved. With the -J method they really are logging in but just passing through.

Root was a mistake:

output for a user:

So you log into the jump host, then you log into a computer from then in a privileged network for example:

If the middle host is chrooted, then that is another reason to use the -J option. The main reason is that so you don't have to trust the middle machine at all, the connection is just streamed across it without decrypting.

Assuming that bastion.example.com chroots the accounts,

Then the password for inside.example.com is exposed on bastion as well as the data. Also, if the accounts on bastion are chrooted, then you'll have to have all the files and devices and logs present inside the chroot in order for the SSH client to work.

What aspect of your work flow makes you hesitant to use -J as normal?

Okay yes I see your point, how would I implement this so that the user isnt actually allowed to log in to the bastion host and they can only use the "-J" switch on the command line?

With the -J option, called ProxyJump in the client configuration, they really are logging in on the bastion host. It is just that they are not given a shell there and before any commands are run the stream is forwarded on to the next host in the chain. So it works even if everyone is chrooted on the bastion, say for chrooted SFTP there or just to avoid letting them having a shell on the bastion host.