Unable to connect via FTP on a new install

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1
SYSTEM INFORMATION
OS type and version Ubuntu 26.04.1
Virtualmin version 8.2.0 GPL8.2.0 GPL

Just did a fresh install of Ubuntu and Virtualmin (LAMP), and created my virtual server, but FTP won’t connect.

WinSCP throws the following error. It’s pretty immediate.
Disconnected from server
Connection failed.

the proftpd logs show this



2026-09-14 08:00:47,881 <sub.domain.tld> proftpd[1967] <sub.domain.tld>: ProFTPD 1.3.9 (stable) (built Sat Nov 8 2025 13:48:03 UTC) standalone mode STARTUP
2026-09-14 09:15:57,926 <sub.domain.tld> proftpd[6026] <sub.domain.tld> (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx[xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx]): mod_tls/2.9.2: error loading TLSRSACertificateKeyFile '/etc/proftpd/proftpd.key':
(1) error:05800074:x509 certificate routines::key values mismatch
2026-09-14 09:15:57,942 <sub.domain.tld> proftpd[6026] <sub.domain.tld> (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx[xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx]): mod_tls.c: error initializing session (No such file or directory), check module logs for details
2026-09-14 09:34:58,439 <sub.domain.tld> proftpd[11563] <sub.domain.tld> (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx[xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx]): mod_tls/2.9.2: error loading TLSRSACertificateKeyFile '/etc/proftpd/proftpd.key':
(1) error:05800074:x509 certificate routines::key values mismatch
2026-09-14 09:34:58,439 <sub.domain.tld> proftpd[11563] <sub.domain.tld> (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx[xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx]): mod_tls.c: error initializing session (No such file or directory), check module logs for details

I’m not sure where the module logs are

Any insight to getting this working would be greatly appreciated.

2

Some notes to myself, just in case it happens again

Made some progress with the errors. One site gave an example of what the proftpd.conf file should look like in regards to the TLS error that I’ m getting. I noticed that the tag was missing, so I added it, and its closing around the lines for the TLS information (this was at the end) so it now looks like this

<IfModule mod_tls.c>
Include /etc/proftpd/conf.d
TLSRSACertificateFile /etc/proftpd/proftpd.cert
TLSRSACertificateKeyFile /etc/proftpd/proftpd.key
TLSCACertificateFile /etc/proftpd/proftpd.ca
TLSEngine on
</IfModule>

Now i receive the following error

Timeout detected. (data connection)
Could not retrieve directory listing.
Error listing directory '/home/<siteName>/public_html'.

So I’m off to double check what that’s all about.

Edit: Again, if anyone has some hints or advice, let me know. Any assistance is appreciated.

3

I tested the same stable versions on Ubuntu 26.04. FTPS login, upload, download, and directory listing all worked.

Your logs show two separate problems.

First, ProFTPD’s certificate and private key do not match. Try copying a valid certificate back to ProFTPD:

virtualmin install-service-cert --domain example.com --service proftpd --add-global

Replace example.com with your domain.

Second, the directory timeout means the passive FTP connection is blocked. Make sure TCP ports 49152-65535 are allowed by your hosting provider’s firewall or forwarded through NAT.

4

Thank you kind internet denizen, for you are a god amongst mortals!

Not to future self and anyone else facing this issue…

virtualmin install-service-cert --domain example.com --service proftpd --add-global
did the trick.

I needed to start from scratch because i fiddled with everything too much, and the proftpd.daemon woudn’t start. but after i reinstalled virtualmin, the same issues happened the above supplied code fixed it easy peasy!

Thanks again!