RE: Using public key pair to authenticate

• Previous message: Alexander Klimov: "Re: Using public key pair to authenticate"
• In reply to: Tay, Gary: "RE: Using public key pair to authenticate"
• Next in thread: Tay, Gary: "RE: Using public key pair to authenticate"
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] [ attachment ]

Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 11:45:49 -0500 (EST)
To: "Tay, Gary" <Gary_Tay@platts.com>

Part of it has to do with the way that OpenSSH and SSH.com internally handle their keys. The default for OpenSSH is that the key is stored in authorized_keys in the .ssh directory with the following format:

ssh-dss bunch_of_base64_encoded_key_junk user@example.com

while ssh.com has a file in the .ssh2 directory called authorization that contains the following type of info:

key PublicKey.pub

where PublicKey.pub will be in the .ssh2 directory in the following format:

---- BEGIN SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----
Subject: your_subject
Comment: "1024-bit dsa, user@example.com, Thu Dec 06 2001 14:22:13"
bunch_of_base64_encoded_key_junk_with_line_breaks_at_every_seventy_fir
st_column
---- END SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----

If you change the formatting around to correspond with these, that should work. At least, that's what I did, and it seemed to work for me.

--Matthew Dalton

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004, Tay, Gary wrote:

> You may search SUN's BigAdmin portal or Google for "authorized_keys".
> Some good ones:
>
> http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/features/articles/sec_shell_1.html
> http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/features/articles/sec_shell_2.html
>
> Most people would start SSH server in debug mode, "sshd -d", and also
> test ssh client connection using vervose mode, "ssh -v remotehost"
>
> Gary
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Loo, Peter [mailto:Peter.Loo@bannerhealth.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 7:58 AM
> To: secureshell@securityfocus.com
> Subject: Using public key pair to authenticate
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I am working with two Unix servers running AIX 5.2. One server is
> running "OpenSSH_3.6.1p2-CERT-patched, SSH protocols 1.5/2.0, OpenSSL
> 0x009060df" while the other is running "SSH Secure Shell 3.2.0".
>
> I created the key pair on the server with OpenSSH using "ssh-keygen". I
> named the output files as (identity & identity.pub). Then I copied the
> contents of "identity.pub" to the file named authorized_keys on the
> server with "SSH Secure Shell 3.2.0".
>
> When I try connecting to the remote server, I am asked to type in the
> password. Apparently the public key authentication method is not
> working.
>
> Can someone shed some light for me?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Peter
>
>

• Previous message: Alexander Klimov: "Re: Using public key pair to authenticate"
• In reply to: Tay, Gary: "RE: Using public key pair to authenticate"
• Next in thread: Tay, Gary: "RE: Using public key pair to authenticate"
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] [ attachment ]