Oracle Linux – Cloud Shell connection no longer works after OS Hardening Applies to: Oracle Cloud

Applies to:

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure - Version N/A and later

Oracle Linux 7/8/9

Goal:

Restore Cloud Shell connection to a working state after applying an OS hardening to mimic On-Prem systems

Symptoms:

Trying to open a new Cloud Shell connection get “stuck”

* OCI Console -> Compute -> Instances -> <MyOLSystem> -> OS Management -> Console connection -> Launch Cloud Shell Connection

Welcome to Oracle Cloud Shell.

Running instance console connection version 1
Instance type is aarch64
Running from ARM folder
2025/09/08 16:52:21 Fetching instance info.
2025/09/08 16:52:21 Looking for existing console connections.
2025/09/08 16:52:22 Waiting for Instance Console Connection to complete transition. Current state: CREATING
2025/09/08 16:52:25 Waiting for Instance Console Connection to complete transition. Current state: CREATING
2025/09/08 16:52:28 Instance Console Connection reached state: ACTIVE
2025/09/08 16:52:28 
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IMPORTANT: Use a console connection to troubleshoot a malfunctioning instance. For normal operations, you should connect to the instance using a Secure Shell (SSH) or Remote Desktop connection. For steps, see https://docs.cloud.oracle.com/iaas/Content/Compute/Tasks/accessinginstance.htm

For more information about troubleshooting your instance using a console connection,