1SSHD(8)                   BSD System Manager's Manual                  SSHD(8)
2

NAME

4     sshd — OpenSSH daemon
5

SYNOPSIS

7     sshd [-46DdeiqTt] [-C connection_spec] [-c host_certificate_file]
8          [-E log_file] [-f config_file] [-g login_grace_time]
9          [-h host_key_file] [-o option] [-p port] [-u len]
10

DESCRIPTION

12     sshd (OpenSSH Daemon) is the daemon program for ssh(1).  It provides se‐
13     cure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an inse‐
14     cure network.
15
16     sshd listens for connections from clients.  It is normally started at
17     boot from /etc/rc.  It forks a new daemon for each incoming connection.
18     The forked daemons handle key exchange, encryption, authentication, com‐
19     mand execution, and data exchange.
20
21     sshd can be configured using command-line options or a configuration file
22     (by default sshd_config(5)); command-line options override values speci‐
23     fied in the configuration file.  sshd rereads its configuration file when
24     it receives a hangup signal, SIGHUP, by executing itself with the name
25     and options it was started with, e.g. /usr/sbin/sshd.
26
27     The options are as follows:
28
29     -4      Forces sshd to use IPv4 addresses only.
30
31     -6      Forces sshd to use IPv6 addresses only.
32
33     -C connection_spec
34             Specify the connection parameters to use for the -T extended test
35             mode.  If provided, any Match directives in the configuration
36             file that would apply are applied before the configuration is
37             written to standard output.  The connection parameters are sup‐
38             plied as keyword=value pairs and may be supplied in any order,
39             either with multiple -C options or as a comma-separated list.
40             The keywords are “addr”, “user”, “host”, “laddr”, “lport”, and
41             “rdomain” and correspond to source address, user, resolved source
42             host name, local address, local port number and routing domain
43             respectively.
44
45     -c host_certificate_file
46             Specifies a path to a certificate file to identify sshd during
47             key exchange.  The certificate file must match a host key file
48             specified using the -h option or the HostKey configuration direc‐
49             tive.
50
51     -D      When this option is specified, sshd will not detach and does not
52             become a daemon.  This allows easy monitoring of sshd.
53
54     -d      Debug mode.  The server sends verbose debug output to standard
55             error, and does not put itself in the background.  The server
56             also will not fork(2) and will only process one connection.  This
57             option is only intended for debugging for the server.  Multiple
58             -d options increase the debugging level.  Maximum is 3.
59
60     -E log_file
61             Append debug logs to log_file instead of the system log.
62
63     -e      Write debug logs to standard error instead of the system log.
64
65     -f config_file
66             Specifies the name of the configuration file.  The default is
67             /etc/ssh/sshd_config.  sshd refuses to start if there is no con‐
68             figuration file.
69
70     -g login_grace_time
71             Gives the grace time for clients to authenticate themselves (de‐
72             fault 120 seconds).  If the client fails to authenticate the user
73             within this many seconds, the server disconnects and exits.  A
74             value of zero indicates no limit.
75
76     -h host_key_file
77             Specifies a file from which a host key is read.  This option must
78             be given if sshd is not run as root (as the normal host key files
79             are normally not readable by anyone but root).  The default is
80             /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key, /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key and
81             /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.  It is possible to have multiple host
82             key files for the different host key algorithms.
83
84     -i      Specifies that sshd is being run from inetd(8).
85
86     -o option
87             Can be used to give options in the format used in the configura‐
88             tion file.  This is useful for specifying options for which there
89             is no separate command-line flag.  For full details of the op‐
90             tions, and their values, see sshd_config(5).
91
92     -p port
93             Specifies the port on which the server listens for connections
94             (default 22).  Multiple port options are permitted.  Ports speci‐
95             fied in the configuration file with the Port option are ignored
96             when a command-line port is specified.  Ports specified using the
97             ListenAddress option override command-line ports.
98
99     -q      Quiet mode.  Nothing is sent to the system log.  Normally the be‐
100             ginning, authentication, and termination of each connection is
101             logged.
102
103     -T      Extended test mode.  Check the validity of the configuration
104             file, output the effective configuration to stdout and then exit.
105             Optionally, Match rules may be applied by specifying the connec‐
106             tion parameters using one or more -C options.
107
108     -t      Test mode.  Only check the validity of the configuration file and
109             sanity of the keys.  This is useful for updating sshd reliably as
110             configuration options may change.
111
112     -u len  This option is used to specify the size of the field in the utmp
113             structure that holds the remote host name.  If the resolved host
114             name is longer than len, the dotted decimal value will be used
115             instead.  This allows hosts with very long host names that over‐
116             flow this field to still be uniquely identified.  Specifying -u0
117             indicates that only dotted decimal addresses should be put into
118             the utmp file.  -u0 may also be used to prevent sshd from making
119             DNS requests unless the authentication mechanism or configuration
120             requires it.  Authentication mechanisms that may require DNS in‐
121             clude HostbasedAuthentication and using a from="pattern-list" op‐
122             tion in a key file.  Configuration options that require DNS in‐
123             clude using a USER@HOST pattern in AllowUsers or DenyUsers.
124

AUTHENTICATION

126     The OpenSSH SSH daemon supports SSH protocol 2 only.  Each host has a
127     host-specific key, used to identify the host.  Whenever a client con‐
128     nects, the daemon responds with its public host key.  The client compares
129     the host key against its own database to verify that it has not changed.
130     Forward secrecy is provided through a Diffie-Hellman key agreement.  This
131     key agreement results in a shared session key.  The rest of the session
132     is encrypted using a symmetric cipher.  The client selects the encryption
133     algorithm to use from those offered by the server.  Additionally, session
134     integrity is provided through a cryptographic message authentication code
135     (MAC).
136
137     Finally, the server and the client enter an authentication dialog.  The
138     client tries to authenticate itself using host-based authentication, pub‐
139     lic key authentication, GSSAPI authentication, challenge-response authen‐
140     tication, or password authentication.
141
142     Regardless of the authentication type, the account is checked to ensure
143     that it is accessible.  An account is not accessible if it is locked,
144     listed in DenyUsers or its group is listed in DenyGroups .  The defini‐
145     tion of a locked account is system dependent. Some platforms have their
146     own account database (eg AIX) and some modify the passwd field ( ‘*LK*’
147     on Solaris and UnixWare, ‘*’ on HP-UX, containing ‘Nologin’ on Tru64, a
148     leading ‘*LOCKED*’ on FreeBSD and a leading ‘!’ on most Linuxes).  If
149     there is a requirement to disable password authentication for the account
150     while allowing still public-key, then the passwd field should be set to
151     something other than these values (eg ‘NP’ or ‘*NP*’ ).
152
153     If the client successfully authenticates itself, a dialog for preparing
154     the session is entered.  At this time the client may request things like
155     allocating a pseudo-tty, forwarding X11 connections, forwarding TCP con‐
156     nections, or forwarding the authentication agent connection over the se‐
157     cure channel.
158
159     After this, the client either requests a shell or execution of a command.
160     The sides then enter session mode.  In this mode, either side may send
161     data at any time, and such data is forwarded to/from the shell or command
162     on the server side, and the user terminal in the client side.
163
164     When the user program terminates and all forwarded X11 and other connec‐
165     tions have been closed, the server sends command exit status to the
166     client, and both sides exit.
167

LOGIN PROCESS

169     When a user successfully logs in, sshd does the following:
170
171           1.   If the login is on a tty, and no command has been specified,
172                prints last login time and /etc/motd (unless prevented in the
173                configuration file or by ~/.hushlogin; see the FILES section).
174
175           2.   If the login is on a tty, records login time.
176
177           3.   Checks /etc/nologin; if it exists, prints contents and quits
178                (unless root).
179
180           4.   Changes to run with normal user privileges.
181
182           5.   Sets up basic environment.
183
184           6.   Reads the file ~/.ssh/environment, if it exists, and users are
185                allowed to change their environment.  See the
186                PermitUserEnvironment option in sshd_config(5).
187
188           7.   Changes to user's home directory.
189
190           8.   If ~/.ssh/rc exists and the sshd_config(5) PermitUserRC option
191                is set, runs it; else if /etc/ssh/sshrc exists, runs it; oth‐
192                erwise runs xauth(1).  The “rc” files are given the X11 au‐
193                thentication protocol and cookie in standard input.  See
194                SSHRC, below.
195
196           9.   Runs user's shell or command.  All commands are run under the
197                user's login shell as specified in the system password data‐
198                base.
199

SSHRC

201     If the file ~/.ssh/rc exists, sh(1) runs it after reading the environment
202     files but before starting the user's shell or command.  It must not pro‐
203     duce any output on stdout; stderr must be used instead.  If X11 forward‐
204     ing is in use, it will receive the "proto cookie" pair in its standard
205     input (and DISPLAY in its environment).  The script must call xauth(1)
206     because sshd will not run xauth automatically to add X11 cookies.
207
208     The primary purpose of this file is to run any initialization routines
209     which may be needed before the user's home directory becomes accessible;
210     AFS is a particular example of such an environment.
211
212     This file will probably contain some initialization code followed by
213     something similar to:
214
215        if read proto cookie && [ -n "$DISPLAY" ]; then
216                if [ `echo $DISPLAY | cut -c1-10` = 'localhost:' ]; then
217                        # X11UseLocalhost=yes
218                        echo add unix:`echo $DISPLAY |
219                            cut -c11-` $proto $cookie
220                else
221                        # X11UseLocalhost=no
222                        echo add $DISPLAY $proto $cookie
223                fi | xauth -q -
224        fi
225
226     If this file does not exist, /etc/ssh/sshrc is run, and if that does not
227     exist either, xauth is used to add the cookie.
228

AUTHORIZED_KEYS FILE FORMAT

230     AuthorizedKeysFile specifies the files containing public keys for public
231     key authentication; if this option is not specified, the default is
232     ~/.ssh/authorized_keys and ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2.  Each line of the
233     file contains one key (empty lines and lines starting with a ‘#’ are ig‐
234     nored as comments).  Public keys consist of the following space-separated
235     fields: options, keytype, base64-encoded key, comment.  The options field
236     is optional.  The supported key types are:
237
238           sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256@openssh.com
239           ecdsa-sha2-nistp256
240           ecdsa-sha2-nistp384
241           ecdsa-sha2-nistp521
242           sk-ssh-ed25519@openssh.com
243           ssh-ed25519
244           ssh-dss
245           ssh-rsa
246
247     The comment field is not used for anything (but may be convenient for the
248     user to identify the key).
249
250     Note that lines in this file can be several hundred bytes long (because
251     of the size of the public key encoding) up to a limit of 8 kilobytes,
252     which permits RSA keys up to 16 kilobits.  You don't want to type them
253     in; instead, copy the id_dsa.pub, id_ecdsa.pub, id_ecdsa_sk.pub,
254     id_ed25519.pub, id_ed25519_sk.pub, or the id_rsa.pub file and edit it.
255
256     sshd enforces a minimum RSA key modulus size of 1024 bits.
257
258     The options (if present) consist of comma-separated option specifica‐
259     tions.  No spaces are permitted, except within double quotes.  The fol‐
260     lowing option specifications are supported (note that option keywords are
261     case-insensitive):
262
263     agent-forwarding
264             Enable authentication agent forwarding previously disabled by the
265             restrict option.
266
267     cert-authority
268             Specifies that the listed key is a certification authority (CA)
269             that is trusted to validate signed certificates for user authen‐
270             tication.
271
272             Certificates may encode access restrictions similar to these key
273             options.  If both certificate restrictions and key options are
274             present, the most restrictive union of the two is applied.
275
276     command="command"
277             Specifies that the command is executed whenever this key is used
278             for authentication.  The command supplied by the user (if any) is
279             ignored.  The command is run on a pty if the client requests a
280             pty; otherwise it is run without a tty.  If an 8-bit clean chan‐
281             nel is required, one must not request a pty or should specify
282             no-pty.  A quote may be included in the command by quoting it
283             with a backslash.
284
285             This option might be useful to restrict certain public keys to
286             perform just a specific operation.  An example might be a key
287             that permits remote backups but nothing else.  Note that the
288             client may specify TCP and/or X11 forwarding unless they are ex‐
289             plicitly prohibited, e.g. using the restrict key option.
290
291             The command originally supplied by the client is available in the
292             SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND environment variable.  Note that this option
293             applies to shell, command or subsystem execution.  Also note that
294             this command may be superseded by a sshd_config(5) ForceCommand
295             directive.
296
297             If a command is specified and a forced-command is embedded in a
298             certificate used for authentication, then the certificate will be
299             accepted only if the two commands are identical.
300
301     environment="NAME=value"
302             Specifies that the string is to be added to the environment when
303             logging in using this key.  Environment variables set this way
304             override other default environment values.  Multiple options of
305             this type are permitted.  Environment processing is disabled by
306             default and is controlled via the PermitUserEnvironment option.
307
308     expiry-time="timespec"
309             Specifies a time after which the key will not be accepted.  The
310             time may be specified as a YYYYMMDD date or a YYYYMMDDHHMM[SS]
311             time in the system time-zone.
312
313     from="pattern-list"
314             Specifies that in addition to public key authentication, either
315             the canonical name of the remote host or its IP address must be
316             present in the comma-separated list of patterns.  See PATTERNS in
317             ssh_config(5) for more information on patterns.
318
319             In addition to the wildcard matching that may be applied to host‐
320             names or addresses, a from stanza may match IP addresses using
321             CIDR address/masklen notation.
322
323             The purpose of this option is to optionally increase security:
324             public key authentication by itself does not trust the network or
325             name servers or anything (but the key); however, if somebody
326             somehow steals the key, the key permits an intruder to log in
327             from anywhere in the world.  This additional option makes using a
328             stolen key more difficult (name servers and/or routers would have
329             to be compromised in addition to just the key).
330
331     no-agent-forwarding
332             Forbids authentication agent forwarding when this key is used for
333             authentication.
334
335     no-port-forwarding
336             Forbids TCP forwarding when this key is used for authentication.
337             Any port forward requests by the client will return an error.
338             This might be used, e.g. in connection with the command option.
339
340     no-pty  Prevents tty allocation (a request to allocate a pty will fail).
341
342     no-user-rc
343             Disables execution of ~/.ssh/rc.
344
345     no-X11-forwarding
346             Forbids X11 forwarding when this key is used for authentication.
347             Any X11 forward requests by the client will return an error.
348
349     permitlisten="[host:]port"
350             Limit remote port forwarding with the ssh(1) -R option such that
351             it may only listen on the specified host (optional) and port.
352             IPv6 addresses can be specified by enclosing the address in
353             square brackets.  Multiple permitlisten options may be applied
354             separated by commas.  Hostnames may include wildcards as de‐
355             scribed in the PATTERNS section in ssh_config(5).  A port speci‐
356             fication of * matches any port.  Note that the setting of
357             GatewayPorts may further restrict listen addresses.  Note that
358             ssh(1) will send a hostname of “localhost” if a listen host was
359             not specified when the forwarding was requested, and that this
360             name is treated differently to the explicit localhost addresses
361             “127.0.0.1” and “::1”.
362
363     permitopen="host:port"
364             Limit local port forwarding with the ssh(1) -L option such that
365             it may only connect to the specified host and port.  IPv6 ad‐
366             dresses can be specified by enclosing the address in square
367             brackets.  Multiple permitopen options may be applied separated
368             by commas.  No pattern matching or name lookup is performed on
369             the specified hostnames, they must be literal host names and/or
370             addresses.  A port specification of * matches any port.
371
372     port-forwarding
373             Enable port forwarding previously disabled by the restrict op‐
374             tion.
375
376     principals="principals"
377             On a cert-authority line, specifies allowed principals for cer‐
378             tificate authentication as a comma-separated list.  At least one
379             name from the list must appear in the certificate's list of prin‐
380             cipals for the certificate to be accepted.  This option is ig‐
381             nored for keys that are not marked as trusted certificate signers
382             using the cert-authority option.
383
384     pty     Permits tty allocation previously disabled by the restrict op‐
385             tion.
386
387     no-touch-required
388             Do not require demonstration of user presence for signatures made
389             using this key.  This option only makes sense for the FIDO au‐
390             thenticator algorithms ecdsa-sk and ed25519-sk.
391
392     verify-required
393             Require that signatures made using this key attest that they ver‐
394             ified the user, e.g. via a PIN.  This option only makes sense for
395             the FIDO authenticator algorithms ecdsa-sk and ed25519-sk.
396
397     restrict
398             Enable all restrictions, i.e. disable port, agent and X11 for‐
399             warding, as well as disabling PTY allocation and execution of
400             ~/.ssh/rc.  If any future restriction capabilities are added to
401             authorized_keys files they will be included in this set.
402
403     tunnel="n"
404             Force a tun(4) device on the server.  Without this option, the
405             next available device will be used if the client requests a tun‐
406             nel.
407
408     user-rc
409             Enables execution of ~/.ssh/rc previously disabled by the
410             restrict option.
411
412     X11-forwarding
413             Permits X11 forwarding previously disabled by the restrict op‐
414             tion.
415
416     An example authorized_keys file:
417
418        # Comments are allowed at start of line. Blank lines are allowed.
419        # Plain key, no restrictions
420        ssh-rsa ...
421        # Forced command, disable PTY and all forwarding
422        restrict,command="dump /home" ssh-rsa ...
423        # Restriction of ssh -L forwarding destinations
424        permitopen="192.0.2.1:80",permitopen="192.0.2.2:25" ssh-rsa ...
425        # Restriction of ssh -R forwarding listeners
426        permitlisten="localhost:8080",permitlisten="[::1]:22000" ssh-rsa ...
427        # Configuration for tunnel forwarding
428        tunnel="0",command="sh /etc/netstart tun0" ssh-rsa ...
429        # Override of restriction to allow PTY allocation
430        restrict,pty,command="nethack" ssh-rsa ...
431        # Allow FIDO key without requiring touch
432        no-touch-required sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256@openssh.com ...
433        # Require user-verification (e.g. PIN or biometric) for FIDO key
434        verify-required sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256@openssh.com ...
435        # Trust CA key, allow touch-less FIDO if requested in certificate
436        cert-authority,no-touch-required,principals="user_a" ssh-rsa ...
437

SSH_KNOWN_HOSTS FILE FORMAT

439     The /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts and ~/.ssh/known_hosts files contain host
440     public keys for all known hosts.  The global file should be prepared by
441     the administrator (optional), and the per-user file is maintained auto‐
442     matically: whenever the user connects to an unknown host, its key is
443     added to the per-user file.
444
445     Each line in these files contains the following fields: marker (op‐
446     tional), hostnames, keytype, base64-encoded key, comment.  The fields are
447     separated by spaces.
448
449     The marker is optional, but if it is present then it must be one of
450     “@cert-authority”, to indicate that the line contains a certification au‐
451     thority (CA) key, or “@revoked”, to indicate that the key contained on
452     the line is revoked and must not ever be accepted.  Only one marker
453     should be used on a key line.
454
455     Hostnames is a comma-separated list of patterns (‘*’ and ‘?’ act as wild‐
456     cards); each pattern in turn is matched against the host name.  When sshd
457     is authenticating a client, such as when using HostbasedAuthentication,
458     this will be the canonical client host name.  When ssh(1) is authenticat‐
459     ing a server, this will be the host name given by the user, the value of
460     the ssh(1) HostkeyAlias if it was specified, or the canonical server
461     hostname if the ssh(1) CanonicalizeHostname option was used.
462
463     A pattern may also be preceded by ‘!’ to indicate negation: if the host
464     name matches a negated pattern, it is not accepted (by that line) even if
465     it matched another pattern on the line.  A hostname or address may op‐
466     tionally be enclosed within ‘[’ and ‘]’ brackets then followed by ‘:’ and
467     a non-standard port number.
468
469     Alternately, hostnames may be stored in a hashed form which hides host
470     names and addresses should the file's contents be disclosed.  Hashed
471     hostnames start with a ‘|’ character.  Only one hashed hostname may ap‐
472     pear on a single line and none of the above negation or wildcard opera‐
473     tors may be applied.
474
475     The keytype and base64-encoded key are taken directly from the host key;
476     they can be obtained, for example, from /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub.
477     The optional comment field continues to the end of the line, and is not
478     used.
479
480     Lines starting with ‘#’ and empty lines are ignored as comments.
481
482     When performing host authentication, authentication is accepted if any
483     matching line has the proper key; either one that matches exactly or, if
484     the server has presented a certificate for authentication, the key of the
485     certification authority that signed the certificate.  For a key to be
486     trusted as a certification authority, it must use the “@cert-authority”
487     marker described above.
488
489     The known hosts file also provides a facility to mark keys as revoked,
490     for example when it is known that the associated private key has been
491     stolen.  Revoked keys are specified by including the “@revoked” marker at
492     the beginning of the key line, and are never accepted for authentication
493     or as certification authorities, but instead will produce a warning from
494     ssh(1) when they are encountered.
495
496     It is permissible (but not recommended) to have several lines or differ‐
497     ent host keys for the same names.  This will inevitably happen when short
498     forms of host names from different domains are put in the file.  It is
499     possible that the files contain conflicting information; authentication
500     is accepted if valid information can be found from either file.
501
502     Note that the lines in these files are typically hundreds of characters
503     long, and you definitely don't want to type in the host keys by hand.
504     Rather, generate them by a script, ssh-keyscan(1) or by taking, for exam‐
505     ple, /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub and adding the host names at the
506     front.  ssh-keygen(1) also offers some basic automated editing for
507     ~/.ssh/known_hosts including removing hosts matching a host name and con‐
508     verting all host names to their hashed representations.
509
510     An example ssh_known_hosts file:
511
512        # Comments allowed at start of line
513        closenet,...,192.0.2.53 1024 37 159...93 closenet.example.net
514        cvs.example.net,192.0.2.10 ssh-rsa AAAA1234.....=
515        # A hashed hostname
516        |1|JfKTdBh7rNbXkVAQCRp4OQoPfmI=|USECr3SWf1JUPsms5AqfD5QfxkM= ssh-rsa
517        AAAA1234.....=
518        # A revoked key
519        @revoked * ssh-rsa AAAAB5W...
520        # A CA key, accepted for any host in *.mydomain.com or *.mydomain.org
521        @cert-authority *.mydomain.org,*.mydomain.com ssh-rsa AAAAB5W...
522

FILES

524     ~/.hushlogin
525             This file is used to suppress printing the last login time and
526             /etc/motd, if PrintLastLog and PrintMotd, respectively, are en‐
527             abled.  It does not suppress printing of the banner specified by
528             Banner.
529
530     ~/.rhosts
531             This file is used for host-based authentication (see ssh(1) for
532             more information).  On some machines this file may need to be
533             world-readable if the user's home directory is on an NFS parti‐
534             tion, because sshd reads it as root.  Additionally, this file
535             must be owned by the user, and must not have write permissions
536             for anyone else.  The recommended permission for most machines is
537             read/write for the user, and not accessible by others.
538
539     ~/.shosts
540             This file is used in exactly the same way as .rhosts, but allows
541             host-based authentication without permitting login with
542             rlogin/rsh.
543
544     ~/.k5login
545     ~/.k5users
546             These files enforce GSSAPI/Kerberos authentication access con‐
547             trol.  Further details are described in ksu(1).  The location of
548             the k5login file depends on the configuration option
549             k5login_directory in the krb5.conf(5).
550
551     ~/.ssh/
552             This directory is the default location for all user-specific con‐
553             figuration and authentication information.  There is no general
554             requirement to keep the entire contents of this directory secret,
555             but the recommended permissions are read/write/execute for the
556             user, and not accessible by others.
557
558     ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
559             Lists the public keys (DSA, ECDSA, Ed25519, RSA) that can be used
560             for logging in as this user.  The format of this file is de‐
561             scribed above.  The content of the file is not highly sensitive,
562             but the recommended permissions are read/write for the user, and
563             not accessible by others.
564
565             If this file, the ~/.ssh directory, or the user's home directory
566             are writable by other users, then the file could be modified or
567             replaced by unauthorized users.  In this case, sshd will not al‐
568             low it to be used unless the StrictModes option has been set to
569             “no”.
570
571     ~/.ssh/environment
572             This file is read into the environment at login (if it exists).
573             It can only contain empty lines, comment lines (that start with
574             ‘#’), and assignment lines of the form name=value.  The file
575             should be writable only by the user; it need not be readable by
576             anyone else.  Environment processing is disabled by default and
577             is controlled via the PermitUserEnvironment option.
578
579     ~/.ssh/known_hosts
580             Contains a list of host keys for all hosts the user has logged
581             into that are not already in the systemwide list of known host
582             keys.  The format of this file is described above.  This file
583             should be writable only by root/the owner and can, but need not
584             be, world-readable.
585
586     ~/.ssh/rc
587             Contains initialization routines to be run before the user's home
588             directory becomes accessible.  This file should be writable only
589             by the user, and need not be readable by anyone else.
590
591     /etc/hosts.equiv
592             This file is for host-based authentication (see ssh(1)).  It
593             should only be writable by root.
594
595     /etc/ssh/moduli
596             Contains Diffie-Hellman groups used for the "Diffie-Hellman Group
597             Exchange" key exchange method.  The file format is described in
598             moduli(5).  If no usable groups are found in this file then fixed
599             internal groups will be used.
600
601     /etc/motd
602             See motd(5).
603
604     /etc/nologin
605             If this file exists, sshd refuses to let anyone except root log
606             in.  The contents of the file are displayed to anyone trying to
607             log in, and non-root connections are refused.  The file should be
608             world-readable.
609
610     /etc/ssh/shosts.equiv
611             This file is used in exactly the same way as hosts.equiv, but al‐
612             lows host-based authentication without permitting login with
613             rlogin/rsh.
614
615     /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
616     /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
617     /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
618             These files contain the private parts of the host keys.  These
619             files should only be owned by root, readable only by root, and
620             not accessible to others.  Note that sshd does not start if these
621             files are group/world-accessible.
622
623     /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
624     /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
625     /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub
626             These files contain the public parts of the host keys.  These
627             files should be world-readable but writable only by root.  Their
628             contents should match the respective private parts.  These files
629             are not really used for anything; they are provided for the con‐
630             venience of the user so their contents can be copied to known
631             hosts files.  These files are created using ssh-keygen(1).
632
633     /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts
634             Systemwide list of known host keys.  This file should be prepared
635             by the system administrator to contain the public host keys of
636             all machines in the organization.  The format of this file is de‐
637             scribed above.  This file should be writable only by root/the
638             owner and should be world-readable.
639
640     /etc/ssh/sshd_config
641             Contains configuration data for sshd.  The file format and con‐
642             figuration options are described in sshd_config(5).
643
644     /etc/ssh/sshrc
645             Similar to ~/.ssh/rc, it can be used to specify machine-specific
646             login-time initializations globally.  This file should be
647             writable only by root, and should be world-readable.
648
649     /usr/share/empty.sshd
650             chroot(2) directory used by sshd during privilege separation in
651             the pre-authentication phase.  The directory should not contain
652             any files and must be owned by root and not group or world-
653             writable.
654
655     /var/run/sshd.pid
656             Contains the process ID of the sshd listening for connections (if
657             there are several daemons running concurrently for different
658             ports, this contains the process ID of the one started last).
659             The content of this file is not sensitive; it can be world-read‐
660             able.
661

IPV6

663     IPv6 address can be used everywhere where IPv4 address. In all entries
664     must be the IPv6 address enclosed in square brackets. Note: The square
665     brackets are metacharacters for the shell and must be escaped in shell.
666

SEE ALSO

668     scp(1), sftp(1), ssh(1), ssh-add(1), ssh-agent(1), ssh-keygen(1),
669     ssh-keyscan(1), chroot(2), login.conf(5), moduli(5), sshd_config(5),
670     inetd(8), sftp-server(8)
671

AUTHORS

673     OpenSSH is a derivative of the original and free ssh 1.2.12 release by
674     Tatu Ylonen.  Aaron Campbell, Bob Beck, Markus Friedl, Niels Provos, Theo
675     de Raadt and Dug Song removed many bugs, re-added newer features and cre‐
676     ated OpenSSH.  Markus Friedl contributed the support for SSH protocol
677     versions 1.5 and 2.0.  Niels Provos and Markus Friedl contributed support
678     for privilege separation.
679
680BSD                              July 30, 2021                             BSD
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