Error in locking authority file
When trying to connect using ssh, if you see a similar error to the following in the status log
/usr/X11R6/bin/xauth: error in locking authority file $HOME/.Xauthority
This issue typically occurs for one of several reasons
- Out of disk space: If your user has a disk quota, or your disk is full, the xauth program will not be able to write to the .Xauthority file. Try freeing up disk space on your system
- File permissions are wrong: The file permissions on .Xauthority must be 400 (read and write for user ONLY). Any other file permission will cause the xauth program to reject the file
As a final measure you can try deleting the .Xauthority file altogether. The file will be recreated the next time you log in with ssh