Starting sshd: Privilege separation user does not exist

Error message 'Starting sshd: Privilege separation user sshd does not exist' is received on restarting the 'sshd' service or connecting to the other computer using ssh. It indicates that the user ‘sshd’ does not exist at all. To fix the sshd privileges issue, you need to add the ‘sshd’ user on the server.

1. Add the below line in /etc/group
    sshd:x:74:
     
2. Add the below line in /etc/passwd
    sshd:x:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin

3. Resart the sshd service
    #  service sshd restart

Another less secure option  is to make UsePrivilegeSeparation yes to UsePrivilegeSeparation no in the file /etc/ssh/sshd_config and restart the sshd service.