{"id":184217,"date":"2025-08-21T21:29:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T21:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/?p=184217"},"modified":"2025-08-21T21:31:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T21:31:38","slug":"how-to-ssh-into-a-virtualbox-guest-vm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/how-to-ssh-into-a-virtualbox-guest-vm\/","title":{"rendered":"How to SSH Into a VirtualBox Guest VM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

VirtualBox is a widely used virtualization tool, often chosen to run Linux distributions for testing in an isolated environment or to set up a server for specific tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point, though, you may need to SSH into a VirtualBox guest VM and find that it doesn\u2019t work. Don\u2019t worry\u2014it\u2019s not a big deal. The whole thing comes down to how your VirtualBox’s network settings are configured. In this guide, I\u2019ll show you how to adjust them quickly so you can enable SSH access without trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll look at two simple approaches: one using bridged networking, and the other using the default NAT setup with port forwarding added on top. Which one you go with really depends on your preference, but either way, you\u2019ll end up with SSH access to your VM. So, let\u2019s jump in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensure SSH Is Running on the Guest VM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes when we\u2019re zeroed in on a specific problem, it\u2019s easy to overlook the simplest step\u2014like making sure the SSH server is actually running on your VirtualBox VM. Yes, I know, you\u2019re probably pretty confident it\u2019s already up, but it never hurts to double-check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most distro-agnostic way to do that is with the command below. Just log into your VM and confirm that the output includes a line with “\/usr\/sbin\/sshd<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n

pgrep -a sshd<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
\"Ensure<\/a>
Ensure SSH is running on the VirtualBox guest VM.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
If you see a result like the one above, great. That means SSH is up and running on your VirtualBox VM. Of course, you can also run systemctl status ssh<\/code> or systemctl status sshd<\/code>\u2014the exact service name depends on your distro\u2014to check the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if the commands above don\u2019t show SSH running (return nothing), you\u2019ll need to install and start it first. Covering that setup is outside the scope of this guide, so check your distribution\u2019s documentation for detailed steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By default, SSH listens on port 22, and unless you\u2019ve changed that setting<\/a>, it should still be using it. To make sure, you can run the following command:<\/p>\n\n\n
sudo netstat -tulnp | grep sshd<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
\"Check<\/a>
Check which port the SSH is listening to.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Now, with everything in place, it\u2019s time to move on to the main part of this guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SSH to VirtualBox VM: Bridged Adapter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we move into the specific changes, I want to talk a bit about the theory first\u2014just so it\u2019s clear what we\u2019re actually doing and, more importantly, why we\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By default, VirtualBox sets up new virtual machines with NAT networking. In this mode, the VM sits behind a kind of internal router that VirtualBox creates. The guest can reach the outside world, but the outside\u2014including your host system\u2014cannot directly initiate connections back into the VM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why trying to SSH into the guest from the host (or another system) fails: the NAT engine doesn\u2019t automatically forward port 22 (or any port) from the host to the guest. To overcome this, you need to switch your VirtualBox guest VM over to bridged networking mode<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you do so, the VM no longer hides behind VirtualBox\u2019s NAT. Instead, it connects directly to the same physical or Wi-Fi network as the host, behaving like just another machine on that LAN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That means it gets its own IP address from the network\u2019s DHCP server (or one you assign manually), and at that point the host\u2014or any other machine on the network\u2014can connect to it over SSH just like they would with any other computer. So, let’s do it. It’s a simple task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make sure the virtual machine is powered off first. Then, right-click the VM and choose \u201cSettings<\/em>\u201d from the context menu. If you prefer, you can also select the VM and click the \u201cSettings<\/em>\u201d button under the main menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Opening<\/a>
Opening VirtualBox’s VM settings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Now, go to the main menu on the left and click “Network<\/em>.” Choose the active default network adapter for your virtual machine (usually “Adapter 1<\/em>“). Then, open the “Attached to<\/em>” drop-down menu and change the setting from “NAT<\/em>” to “Bridged Adapter<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Switching<\/a>
Switching a VirtualBox VM\u2019s network adapter over to bridged mode.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Finally, click the \u201cOK<\/em>\u201d button in the bottom-right corner to save your changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Apply<\/a>
Apply settings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Start the virtual machine. To connect, you\u2019ll need its IP address. The easiest way to find that is by logging in locally and running the command below.<\/p>\n\n\n
ip a<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
\"Finding<\/a>
Finding the IP address of the virtual machine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019re good to go\u2014open a terminal on any host in your local network and run the standard SSH command to reach your VirtualBox Linux VM.<\/p>\n\n\n
ssh <user>@<host-lan-ip><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
\"Successfully
Successfully connected to the VirtualBox Linux VM over SSH.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
SSH to VirtualBox VM: NAT with Port Forwarding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now let\u2019s check out another option for connecting to a VirtualBox Linux VM over SSH\u2014this time using the default NAT network mode with port forwarding enabled. What am I talking about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
VirtualBox lets you forward a port on the host machine to a port inside the guest VM. For SSH, the common setup is to forward the host port 2222 (or another unused port) to the guest port 22. With that rule in place, any connection made to port 2222 on the host is automatically passed through VirtualBox\u2019s NAT engine and delivered to the guest VM\u2019s SSH service. Here’s how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Open the virtual machine settings as described in the previous section. On the left-hand panel, click “Network<\/em>” and make sure you\u2019re looking at the active network adapter your virtual machine is using (the “Enable Network Adapter<\/em>” box should be checked). In the “Attached to<\/em>” drop-down list, select “NAT<\/em>.” Now for the fun part\u2014click the “Port Forwarding<\/em>” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Setting<\/a>
Setting a VirtualBox VM\u2019s network adapter for NAT + port forwarding.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A new window will pop up where you can set up your port forwarding rules. Here\u2019s what each option means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n