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XK0-006 Practice Question: A system administrator is troubleshooting a…
A system administrator is troubleshooting a server running Ubuntu 20.04 that cannot establish outbound SSH connections. The server can ping external IP addresses and resolve hostnames. The administrator tries `ssh user@remotehost` and gets 'Connection timed out'. The firewall (ufw) is active. Which step should be taken?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume SSH issues are always server-side (e.g., checking SSH server config or restarting services) and overlook that the local firewall's outbound policy can block client-initiated connections even when inbound rules are correctly configured.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Allow output traffic on port 22 with ufw allow out 22/tcp.
The server can ping external IPs and resolve hostnames, so networking and DNS are working. The issue is that outbound SSH traffic on port 22 is being blocked by the active UFW firewall. The correct step is to allow outbound TCP traffic on port 22 using `ufw allow out 22/tcp`, which permits the client to initiate SSH connections to remote hosts.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Check the SSH client configuration in /etc/ssh/ssh_config.
Why it's wrong here
Client configuration issues typically cause different errors, not timeouts.
- ✗
Restart the networking service.
Why it's wrong here
Networking is already functional (ping and DNS work); restarting won't help.
- ✓
Allow output traffic on port 22 with ufw allow out 22/tcp.
Why this is correct
Explicitly allowing outbound SSH traffic resolves the timeout while maintaining security.
- ✗
Disable the firewall with ufw disable.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the entire firewall is not a targeted solution and weakens security.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
User and Group Administration
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
Key term
DNS
DNS is the system that translates human-friendly domain names like example.com into machine-readable IP addresses so computers can find each other on a network.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This XK0-006 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the XK0-006 exam.