Fail2Ban fails to start on Plesk for Linux server: Could not enable jails, Failed during configuration: Have not found any log file for ssh jail

Symptoms

• On a Plesk for Linux server with AlmaLinux or another RHEL-based operating system, IP Address Banning is shown as disabled on the Home page.

• The following error is shown in the Plesk interface:

  Could not enable jails: To be able to activate a jail, switch on Fail2Ban first.

• The following error is found on checking the status of the Fail2Ban service in the server's console:

  # service fail2ban status
  ...
  plesk fail2ban-server[7688]: fail2ban [7688]: ERROR Failed during configuration: Have not found any log file for ssh jail
  plesk fail2ban-server[7688]: fail2ban [7688]: ERROR Async configuration of server failed

Cause

Path to the log file specific for Debian/Ubuntu is specified for the ssh jail in Tools & Settings > IP Address Banning (Fail2Ban) > Jails > ssh:

Resolution

1. Log into Plesk.

2. Go to Tools & Settings > IP Address Banning (Fail2Ban) > Jails > ssh and click Change Settings.

3. In the field Log path, replace /var/log/auth.log with /var/log/secure and click OK or Apply to save the changes.

4. Connect to the server using SSH.

5. Start the Fail2Ban service:

   # service fail2ban start

Note: If the OS is Debian or Ubuntu and path to the log is set as /var/log/secure, apply changes vice versa - in step 3, replace /var/log/secure with /var/log/auth.log.