NRPE Check Returning “Connection Refused” After Recent Server Update
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2026 4:22 am
Hi everyone,
I’m running into an issue with NRPE after updating one of my Linux servers (Ubuntu 22.04). Before the update, all remote checks from my Nagios server were working fine, but now I’m consistently getting a “Connection refused” error when trying to run checks on this host.
I’ve verified that the NRPE service is running, and I can see it listening on port 5666 using netstat. I also double-checked the allowed_hosts setting in nrpe.cfg, and my Nagios server’s IP is definitely listed there. Firewall-wise, I’ve temporarily disabled UFW just to test, but the issue still persists.
From the Nagios server side, I’m using the check_nrpe command, and it times out or fails immediately with connection refused. I’m wondering if the update may have changed something related to SSL/TLS requirements or if there’s a compatibility issue with the NRPE version.
Has anyone run into something similar after a system update? Any suggestions on what logs or configs I should be checking next would really help.
Thanks in advance!
I’m running into an issue with NRPE after updating one of my Linux servers (Ubuntu 22.04). Before the update, all remote checks from my Nagios server were working fine, but now I’m consistently getting a “Connection refused” error when trying to run checks on this host.
I’ve verified that the NRPE service is running, and I can see it listening on port 5666 using netstat. I also double-checked the allowed_hosts setting in nrpe.cfg, and my Nagios server’s IP is definitely listed there. Firewall-wise, I’ve temporarily disabled UFW just to test, but the issue still persists.
From the Nagios server side, I’m using the check_nrpe command, and it times out or fails immediately with connection refused. I’m wondering if the update may have changed something related to SSL/TLS requirements or if there’s a compatibility issue with the NRPE version.
Has anyone run into something similar after a system update? Any suggestions on what logs or configs I should be checking next would really help.
Thanks in advance!