[ddk1]

For version 10,11,12 of XBMC I used 'sudo setpasswd root' to set a root password, then used root/password to access XBMC via FTP(later SFTP).
Before you ask, this allows me to edit some config files in windows7 (that I'm more familiar with) and transfer them to XBMC via my SFTP app.
I have just installed Kodi 14 Helix replacing XBMC 12 Frodo. I have set the root password and can login as root ok via a terminal window, but when I try to access Kodi via SFTP as root, it keeps saying "Password authentication failed". I can SFTP as the userid/password I set during install ok, but that doesn't give me root access (eg. I want to change \etc\network\interfaces).
What am I missing?

[ddk1]

Typical. I should have asked this hours ago, then I'd have discovered the answer 5 minutes later, hours ago !
I don't remember doing this on earlier versions, but either way, you now need to allow root login:

nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
change PermitRootLogin without-password --> PermitRootLogin yes

[nickr]

This really has nothing to do with the version of xbmc/kodi, it is to do with the base operating system.

Your approach is highly insecure - although that may not matter to you if your LAN is adequately secured and you trust everyone who might have access to the LAN.

The standard, and more secure, way is to:

1. Use ssh to access the system as a regular user

2. Use sudo to perform tasks that need root access.