wiki: add ssh.socket Tailscale race condition troubleshooting article
Documents the systemd socket activation race where ssh.socket binds to the Tailscale IP before tailscaled is ready, causing SSH to become unreachable after a Tailscale reconnect. Includes diagnosis steps and the After=/BindsTo= fix.
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# ssh.socket Unreachable After Reboot (Tailscale Race Condition)
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## Symptom
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SSH to a host via Tailscale IP times out. `tailscale ping` works, `tailscale status` shows `active; direct`, but SSH on port 22 refuses connections. No access via Hetzner console if root password is unset.
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## Cause
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Ubuntu 24.04 uses systemd **socket activation** for SSH (`ssh.socket` instead of persistent `ssh.service`). When the socket override binds to a Tailscale IP, it can start *before* `tailscaled.service` is ready. The bind may succeed initially (Tailscale state file caches the IP), but a later Tailscale reconnect or interface reset invalidates the bound address silently — SSH dies with no recovery path.
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## Diagnosis
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```bash
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# From another host:
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tailscale ping <IP> # succeeds — host is up
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ssh root@<IP> # times out — sshd not listening
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# After gaining console access or reboot:
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systemctl status ssh.socket # check Listen: address
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journalctl -b -1 -u ssh # likely empty — sshd never spawned
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journalctl -b -1 -u ssh.socket # socket started before tailscaled
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```
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## Fix
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Add Tailscale dependency to the socket override:
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```ini
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# /etc/systemd/system/ssh.socket.d/override.conf
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[Unit]
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After=tailscaled.service
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BindsTo=tailscaled.service
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[Socket]
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ListenStream=
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ListenStream=<TAILSCALE_IP>:22
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```
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Then reload and restart:
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```bash
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systemctl daemon-reload
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systemctl restart ssh.socket
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systemctl status ssh.socket # verify Listen: shows correct IP
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```
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- `After=` ensures the socket waits for Tailscale to start
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- `BindsTo=` restarts the socket if Tailscale restarts, preventing stale binds
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## Prevention
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- Set root passwords on all Hetzner hosts for emergency console access
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- Ansible playbook `configure_tailscale_ssh_only.yml` includes both directives as of commit `7ef182b`
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## Affected Hosts
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Ubuntu hosts using `configure_tailscale_ssh_only.yml`: majorlinux, dcaprod-hetzner. Fedora hosts (majordiscord) use firewall rules for SSH restriction — not affected.
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## References
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- [[dcaprod#2026-05-19 — SSH unreachable due to ssh.socket race condition with Tailscale]]
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- [[majorlinux#2026-05-19 — ssh.socket override patched: added Tailscale dependency]]
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- Ansible: `configure_tailscale_ssh_only.yml`
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
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---
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created: 2026-04-02T16:03
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updated: 2026-05-11T07:35
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updated: 2026-05-15T09:00
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---
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* [Home](index.md)
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* [Linux & Sysadmin](01-linux/index.md)
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@ -70,11 +70,13 @@ updated: 2026-05-11T07:35
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* [Streaming & Podcasting](04-streaming/index.md)
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* [OBS Studio Setup & Encoding](04-streaming/obs/obs-studio-setup-encoding.md)
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* [Plex 4K Codec Compatibility (Apple TV)](04-streaming/plex/plex-4k-codec-compatibility.md)
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* [HEVC Batch Re-Encode for Plex Using VAAPI (AMD GPU)](04-streaming/plex/hevc-vaapi-batch-encode.md)
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* [Troubleshooting](05-troubleshooting/index.md)
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* [Apache Outage: Fail2ban Self-Ban + Missing iptables Rules](05-troubleshooting/networking/fail2ban-self-ban-apache-outage.md)
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* [Mail Client Stops Receiving: Fail2ban IMAP Self-Ban](05-troubleshooting/networking/fail2ban-imap-self-ban-mail-client.md)
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* [firewalld: Mail Ports Wiped After Reload](05-troubleshooting/networking/firewalld-mail-ports-reset.md)
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* [Tailscale SSH: Unexpected Re-Authentication Prompt](05-troubleshooting/networking/tailscale-ssh-reauth-prompt.md)
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* [ssh.socket Unreachable After Reboot (Tailscale Race Condition)](05-troubleshooting/networking/ssh-socket-tailscale-race-condition.md)
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* [Fail2ban & UFW Rule Bloat Cleanup](05-troubleshooting/networking/fail2ban-ufw-rule-bloat-cleanup.md)
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* [Custom Fail2ban Jail: Apache Directory Scanning](05-troubleshooting/security/apache-dirscan-fail2ban-jail.md)
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* [Tuning Netdata `web_log_1m_successful` for Redirect-Heavy WordPress Sites](05-troubleshooting/security/netdata-web-log-successful-redirect-heavy-tuning.md)
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@ -105,8 +107,10 @@ updated: 2026-05-11T07:35
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* [rsync over Tailscale: Hung in TCP Teardown After Transfer Completes](05-troubleshooting/networking/rsync-tailscale-teardown-stall.md)
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* [iOS Tailscale Clients Report HostName="localhost" — Breaks /etc/hosts Generators](05-troubleshooting/networking/tailscale-status-json-hostname-localhost-ios.md)
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* [macOS: Repeating Alert Tone from Mirrored iPhone Notification](05-troubleshooting/macos-mirrored-notification-alert-loop.md)
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* [OBS Studio: Stale Script Paths After Windows Profile Rename](05-troubleshooting/obs-stale-script-paths-after-windows-profile-rename.md)
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* [ClamAV CPU Spike: Safe Scheduling with nice/ionice](05-troubleshooting/security/clamscan-cpu-spike-nice-ionice.md)
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* [Fedora CA Bundle Missing Symlink — TLS Breaks Fleet-Wide](05-troubleshooting/security/fedora-ca-bundle-missing-symlink.md)
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* [Netdata apps-group FD-utilisation false 100% (silenced fleet-wide)](05-troubleshooting/security/netdata-apps-fds-group-false-positive.md)
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* [Ansible: Vault Password File Not Found](05-troubleshooting/ansible-vault-password-file-missing.md)
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* [Ansible: ansible.cfg Ignored on WSL2 Windows Mounts](05-troubleshooting/ansible-wsl2-world-writable-mount-ignores-cfg.md)
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* [Ansible: SSH Timeout During dnf upgrade on Fedora Hosts](05-troubleshooting/ansible-ssh-timeout-dnf-upgrade.md)
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