SSHD(8) BSD System Manager's Manual SSHD(8)
NAME
sshd -- OpenSSH SSH daemon
SYNOPSIS
sshd [-46DdeiqTt] [-C connection_spec] [-c host_certificate_file]
[-E log_file] [-f config_file] [-g login_grace_time]
[-h host_key_file] [-o option] [-p port] [-u len]
DESCRIPTION
sshd (OpenSSH Daemon) is the daemon program for ssh(1). Together these
programs replace rlogin and rsh, and provide secure encrypted communica-
tions between two untrusted hosts over an insecure network.
sshd listens for connections from clients. It is normally started at
boot from /etc/rc. It forks a new daemon for each incoming connection.
The forked daemons handle key exchange, encryption, authentication, com-
mand execution, and data exchange.
sshd can be configured using command-line options or a configuration file
(by default sshd_config(5)); command-line options override values speci-
fied in the configuration file. sshd rereads its configuration file when
it receives a hangup signal, SIGHUP, by executing itself with the name
and options it was started with, e.g. /usr/sbin/sshd.
The options are as follows:
-4 Forces sshd to use IPv4 addresses only.
-6 Forces sshd to use IPv6 addresses only.
-C connection_spec
Specify the connection parameters to use for the -T extended test
mode. If provided, any Match directives in the configuration
file that would apply to the specified user, host, and address
will be set before the configuration is written to standard out-
put. The connection parameters are supplied as keyword=value
pairs. The keywords are ``user'', ``host'', ``laddr'',
``lport'', and ``addr''. All are required and may be supplied in
any order, either with multiple -C options or as a comma-sepa-
rated list.
-c host_certificate_file
Specifies a path to a certificate file to identify sshd during
key exchange. The certificate file must match a host key file
specified using the -h option or the HostKey configuration direc-
tive.
-D When this option is specified, sshd will not detach and does not
become a daemon. This allows easy monitoring of sshd.
-d Debug mode. The server sends verbose debug output to standard
error, and does not put itself in the background. The server
also will not fork and will only process one connection. This
option is only intended for debugging for the server. Multiple
-d options increase the debugging level. Maximum is 3.
-E log_file
Append debug logs to log_file instead of the system log.
-e Write debug logs to standard error instead of the system log.
-f config_file
Specifies the name of the configuration file. The default is
/etc/ssh/sshd_config. sshd refuses to start if there is no con-
figuration file.
-g login_grace_time
Gives the grace time for clients to authenticate themselves
(default 120 seconds). If the client fails to authenticate the
user within this many seconds, the server disconnects and exits.
A value of zero indicates no limit.
-h host_key_file
Specifies a file from which a host key is read. This option must
be given if sshd is not run as root (as the normal host key files
are normally not readable by anyone but root). The default is
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key, /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key,
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key and /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key. It
is possible to have multiple host key files for the different
host key algorithms.
-i Specifies that sshd is being run from inetd(8).
-o option
Can be used to give options in the format used in the configura-
tion file. This is useful for specifying options for which there
is no separate command-line flag. For full details of the
options, and their values, see sshd_config(5).
-p port
Specifies the port on which the server listens for connections
(default 22). Multiple port options are permitted. Ports speci-
fied in the configuration file with the Port option are ignored
when a command-line port is specified. Ports specified using the
ListenAddress option override command-line ports.
-q Quiet mode. Nothing is sent to the system log. Normally the
beginning, authentication, and termination of each connection is
logged.
-T Extended test mode. Check the validity of the configuration
file, output the effective configuration to stdout and then exit.
Optionally, Match rules may be applied by specifying the connec-
tion parameters using one or more -C options.
-t Test mode. Only check the validity of the configuration file and
sanity of the keys. This is useful for updating sshd reliably as
configuration options may change.
-u len This option is used to specify the size of the field in the utmp
structure that holds the remote host name. If the resolved host
name is longer than len, the dotted decimal value will be used
instead. This allows hosts with very long host names that over-
flow this field to still be uniquely identified. Specifying -u0
indicates that only dotted decimal addresses should be put into
the utmp file. -u0 may also be used to prevent sshd from making
DNS requests unless the authentication mechanism or configuration
requires it. Authentication mechanisms that may require DNS
include HostbasedAuthentication and using a from="pattern-list"
option in a key file. Configuration options that require DNS
include using a USER@HOST pattern in AllowUsers or DenyUsers.
AUTHENTICATION
The OpenSSH SSH daemon supports SSH protocol 2 only. Each host has a
host-specific key, used to identify the host. Whenever a client con-
nects, the daemon responds with its public host key. The client compares
the host key against its own database to verify that it has not changed.
Forward security is provided through a Diffie-Hellman key agreement.
This key agreement results in a shared session key. The rest of the ses-
sion is encrypted using a symmetric cipher, currently 128-bit AES, Blow-
fish, 3DES, CAST128, Arcfour, 192-bit AES, or 256-bit AES. The client
selects the encryption algorithm to use from those offered by the server.
Additionally, session integrity is provided through a cryptographic mes-
sage authentication code (hmac-md5, hmac-sha1, umac-64, umac-128, hmac-
ripemd160, hmac-sha2-256 or hmac-sha2-512).
Finally, the server and the client enter an authentication dialog. The
client tries to authenticate itself using host-based authentication, pub-
lic key authentication, GSSAPI authentication, challenge-response authen-
tication, or password authentication.
Regardless of the authentication type, the account is checked to ensure
that it is accessible. An account is not accessible if it is locked,
listed in DenyUsers or its group is listed in DenyGroups . The defini-
tion of a locked account is system dependant. Some platforms have their
own account database (eg AIX) and some modify the passwd field ( `*LK*'
on Solaris and UnixWare, `*' on HP-UX, containing `Nologin' on Tru64, a
leading `*LOCKED*' on FreeBSD and a leading `!' on most Linuxes). If
there is a requirement to disable password authentication for the account
while allowing still public-key, then the passwd field should be set to
something other than these values (eg `NP' or `*NP*' ).
If the client successfully authenticates itself, a dialog for preparing
the session is entered. At this time the client may request things like
allocating a pseudo-tty, forwarding X11 connections, forwarding TCP con-
nections, or forwarding the authentication agent connection over the
secure channel.
After this, the client either requests a shell or execution of a command.
The sides then enter session mode. In this mode, either side may send
data at any time, and such data is forwarded to/from the shell or command
on the server side, and the user terminal in the client side.
When the user program terminates and all forwarded X11 and other connec-
tions have been closed, the server sends command exit status to the
client, and both sides exit.
LOGIN PROCESS
When a user successfully logs in, sshd does the following:
1. If the login is on a tty, and no command has been specified,
prints last login time and /etc/motd (unless prevented in the
configuration file or by ~/.hushlogin; see the FILES section).
2. If the login is on a tty, records login time.
3. Checks /etc/nologin; if it exists, prints contents and quits
(unless root).
4. Changes to run with normal user privileges.
5. Sets up basic environment.
6. Reads the file ~/.ssh/environment, if it exists, and users are
allowed to change their environment. See the
PermitUserEnvironment option in sshd_config(5).
7. Changes to user's home directory.
8. If ~/.ssh/rc exists and the sshd_config(5) PermitUserRC option
is set, runs it; else if /etc/ssh/sshrc exists, runs it; oth-
erwise runs xauth. The ``rc'' files are given the X11 authen-
tication protocol and cookie in standard input. See SSHRC,
below.
9. Runs user's shell or command. All commands are run under the
user's login shell as specified in the system password data-
base.
SSHRC
If the file ~/.ssh/rc exists, sh(1) runs it after reading the environment
files but before starting the user's shell or command. It must not pro-
duce any output on stdout; stderr must be used instead. If X11 forward-
ing is in use, it will receive the "proto cookie" pair in its standard
input (and DISPLAY in its environment). The script must call xauth(1)
because sshd will not run xauth automatically to add X11 cookies.
The primary purpose of this file is to run any initialization routines
which may be needed before the user's home directory becomes accessible;
AFS is a particular example of such an environment.
This file will probably contain some initialization code followed by
something similar to:
if read proto cookie && [ -n "$DISPLAY" ]; then
if [ `echo $DISPLAY | cut -c1-10` = 'localhost:' ]; then
# X11UseLocalhost=yes
echo add unix:`echo $DISPLAY |
cut -c11-` $proto $cookie
else
# X11UseLocalhost=no
echo add $DISPLAY $proto $cookie
fi | xauth -q -
fi
If this file does not exist, /etc/ssh/sshrc is run, and if that does not
exist either, xauth is used to add the cookie.
AUTHORIZED_KEYS FILE FORMAT
AuthorizedKeysFile specifies the files containing public keys for public
key authentication; if this option is not specified, the default is
~/.ssh/authorized_keys and ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2. Each line of the
file contains one key (empty lines and lines starting with a `#' are
ignored as comments). Public keys consist of the following space-sepa-
rated fields: options, keytype, base64-encoded key, comment. The options
field is optional. The keytype is ``ecdsa-sha2-nistp256'',
``ecdsa-sha2-nistp384'', ``ecdsa-sha2-nistp521'', ``ssh-ed25519'',
``ssh-dss'' or ``ssh-rsa''; the comment field is not used for anything
(but may be convenient for the user to identify the key).
Note that lines in this file can be several hundred bytes long (because
of the size of the public key encoding) up to a limit of 8 kilobytes,
which permits DSA keys up to 8 kilobits and RSA keys up to 16 kilobits.
You don't want to type them in; instead, copy the id_dsa.pub,
id_ecdsa.pub, id_ed25519.pub, or the id_rsa.pub file and edit it.
sshd enforces a minimum RSA key modulus size of 768 bits.
The options (if present) consist of comma-separated option specifica-
tions. No spaces are permitted, except within double quotes. The fol-
lowing option specifications are supported (note that option keywords are
case-insensitive):
agent-forwarding
Enable authentication agent forwarding previously disabled by the
restrict option.
cert-authority
Specifies that the listed key is a certification authority (CA)
that is trusted to validate signed certificates for user authen-
tication.
Certificates may encode access restrictions similar to these key
options. If both certificate restrictions and key options are
present, the most restrictive union of the two is applied.
command="command"
Specifies that the command is executed whenever this key is used
for authentication. The command supplied by the user (if any) is
ignored. The command is run on a pty if the client requests a
pty; otherwise it is run without a tty. If an 8-bit clean chan-
nel is required, one must not request a pty or should specify
no-pty. A quote may be included in the command by quoting it
with a backslash.
This option might be useful to restrict certain public keys to
perform just a specific operation. An example might be a key
that permits remote backups but nothing else. Note that the
client may specify TCP and/or X11 forwarding unless they are
explicitly prohibited, e.g. using the restrict key option.
The command originally supplied by the client is available in the
SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND environment variable. Note that this option
applies to shell, command or subsystem execution. Also note that
this command may be superseded by a sshd_config(5) ForceCommand
directive.
If a command is specified and a forced-command is embedded in a
certificate used for authentication, then the certificate will be
accepted only if the two commands are identical.
environment="NAME=value"
Specifies that the string is to be added to the environment when
logging in using this key. Environment variables set this way
override other default environment values. Multiple options of
this type are permitted. Environment processing is disabled by
default and is controlled via the PermitUserEnvironment option.
from="pattern-list"
Specifies that in addition to public key authentication, either
the canonical name of the remote host or its IP address must be
present in the comma-separated list of patterns. See PATTERNS in
ssh_config(5) for more information on patterns.
In addition to the wildcard matching that may be applied to host-
names or addresses, a from stanza may match IP addresses using
CIDR address/masklen notation.
The purpose of this option is to optionally increase security:
public key authentication by itself does not trust the network or
name servers or anything (but the key); however, if somebody
somehow steals the key, the key permits an intruder to log in
from anywhere in the world. This additional option makes using a
stolen key more difficult (name servers and/or routers would have
to be compromised in addition to just the key).
no-agent-forwarding
Forbids authentication agent forwarding when this key is used for
authentication.
no-port-forwarding
Forbids TCP forwarding when this key is used for authentication.
Any port forward requests by the client will return an error.
This might be used, e.g. in connection with the command option.
no-pty Prevents tty allocation (a request to allocate a pty will fail).
no-user-rc
Disables execution of ~/.ssh/rc.
no-X11-forwarding
Forbids X11 forwarding when this key is used for authentication.
Any X11 forward requests by the client will return an error.
permitopen="host:port"
Limit local port forwarding with ssh(1) -L such that it may only
connect to the specified host and port. IPv6 addresses can be
specified by enclosing the address in square brackets. Multiple
permitopen options may be applied separated by commas. No pat-
tern matching is performed on the specified hostnames, they must
be literal domains or addresses. A port specification of *
matches any port.
port-forwarding
Enable port forwarding previously disabled by the restrict
principals="principals"
On a cert-authority line, specifies allowed principals for cer-
tificate authentication as a comma-separated list. At least one
name from the list must appear in the certificate's list of prin-
cipals for the certificate to be accepted. This option is
ignored for keys that are not marked as trusted certificate sign-
ers using the cert-authority option.
pty Permits tty allocation previously disabled by the restrict
option.
restrict
Enable all restrictions, i.e. disable port, agent and X11 for-
warding, as well as disabling PTY allocation and execution of
~/.ssh/rc. If any future restriction capabilities are added to
authorized_keys files they will be included in this set.
tunnel="n"
Force a tun(4) device on the server. Without this option, the
next available device will be used if the client requests a tun-
nel.
user-rc
Enables execution of ~/.ssh/rc previously disabled by the
restrict option.
X11-forwarding
Permits X11 forwarding previously disabled by the restrict
option.
An example authorized_keys file:
# Comments allowed at start of line
ssh-rsa AAAAB3Nza...LiPk== user AT example.net
from="*.sales.example.net,!pc.sales.example.net" ssh-rsa
AAAAB2...19Q== john AT example.net
command="dump /home",no-pty,no-port-forwarding ssh-dss
AAAAC3...51R== example.net
permitopen="192.0.2.1:80",permitopen="192.0.2.2:25" ssh-dss
AAAAB5...21S==
tunnel="0",command="sh /etc/netstart tun0" ssh-rsa AAAA...==
jane AT example.net
restrict,command="uptime" ssh-rsa AAAA1C8...32Tv==
user AT example.net
restrict,pty,command="nethack" ssh-rsa AAAA1f8...IrrC5==
user AT example.net
SSH_KNOWN_HOSTS FILE FORMAT
The /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts and ~/.ssh/known_hosts files contain host
public keys for all known hosts. The global file should be prepared by
the administrator (optional), and the per-user file is maintained auto-
matically: whenever the user connects from an unknown host, its key is
added to the per-user file.
Each line in these files contains the following fields: markers
(optional), hostnames, keytype, base64-encoded key, comment. The fields
are separated by spaces.
The marker is optional, but if it is present then it must be one of
``@cert-authority'', to indicate that the line contains a certification
authority (CA) key, or ``@revoked'', to indicate that the key contained
on the line is revoked and must not ever be accepted. Only one marker
should be used on a key line.
Hostnames is a comma-separated list of patterns (`*' and `?' act as wild-
cards); each pattern in turn is matched against the canonical host name
(when authenticating a client) or against the user-supplied name (when
authenticating a server). A pattern may also be preceded by `!' to indi-
cate negation: if the host name matches a negated pattern, it is not
accepted (by that line) even if it matched another pattern on the line.
A hostname or address may optionally be enclosed within `[' and `]'
brackets then followed by `:' and a non-standard port number.
Alternately, hostnames may be stored in a hashed form which hides host
names and addresses should the file's contents be disclosed. Hashed
hostnames start with a `|' character. Only one hashed hostname may
appear on a single line and none of the above negation or wildcard opera-
tors may be applied.
The keytype and base64-encoded key are taken directly from the host key;
they can be obtained, for example, from /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub.
The optional comment field continues to the end of the line, and is not
used.
Lines starting with `#' and empty lines are ignored as comments.
When performing host authentication, authentication is accepted if any
matching line has the proper key; either one that matches exactly or, if
the server has presented a certificate for authentication, the key of the
certification authority that signed the certificate. For a key to be
trusted as a certification authority, it must use the ``@cert-authority''
marker described above.
The known hosts file also provides a facility to mark keys as revoked,
for example when it is known that the associated private key has been
stolen. Revoked keys are specified by including the ``@revoked'' marker
at the beginning of the key line, and are never accepted for authentica-
tion or as certification authorities, but instead will produce a warning
from ssh(1) when they are encountered.
It is permissible (but not recommended) to have several lines or differ-
ent host keys for the same names. This will inevitably happen when short
forms of host names from different domains are put in the file. It is
possible that the files contain conflicting information; authentication
is accepted if valid information can be found from either file.
Note that the lines in these files are typically hundreds of characters
long, and you definitely don't want to type in the host keys by hand.
Rather, generate them by a script, ssh-keyscan(1) or by taking, for exam-
ple, /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub and adding the host names at the
front. ssh-keygen(1) also offers some basic automated editing for
~/.ssh/known_hosts including removing hosts matching a host name and con-
verting all host names to their hashed representations.
An example ssh_known_hosts file:
# Comments allowed at start of line
closenet,...,192.0.2.53 1024 37 159...93 closenet.example.net
cvs.example.net,192.0.2.10 ssh-rsa AAAA1234.....=
# A hashed hostname
|1|JfKTdBh7rNbXkVAQCRp4OQoPfmI=|USECr3SWf1JUPsms5AqfD5QfxkM= ssh-rsa
AAAA1234.....=
# A revoked key
@revoked * ssh-rsa AAAAB5W...
# A CA key, accepted for any host in *.mydomain.com or *.mydomain.org
@cert-authority *.mydomain.org,*.mydomain.com ssh-rsa AAAAB5W...
FILES
~/.hushlogin
This file is used to suppress printing the last login time and
/etc/motd, if PrintLastLog and PrintMotd, respectively, are
enabled. It does not suppress printing of the banner specified
by Banner.
~/.rhosts
This file is used for host-based authentication (see ssh(1) for
more information). On some machines this file may need to be
world-readable if the user's home directory is on an NFS parti-
tion, because sshd reads it as root. Additionally, this file
must be owned by the user, and must not have write permissions
for anyone else. The recommended permission for most machines is
read/write for the user, and not accessible by others.
~/.shosts
This file is used in exactly the same way as .rhosts, but allows
host-based authentication without permitting login with
rlogin/rsh.
~/.k5login
~/.k5users
These files enforce GSSAPI/Kerberos authentication access con-
trol. Further details are described in ksu(1). The location of
the k5login file depends on the configuration option
k5login_directory in the krb5.conf(5).
~/.ssh/
This directory is the default location for all user-specific con-
figuration and authentication information. There is no general
requirement to keep the entire contents of this directory secret,
but the recommended permissions are read/write/execute for the
user, and not accessible by others.
~/.ssh/authorized_keys
Lists the public keys (DSA, ECDSA, Ed25519, RSA) that can be used
for logging in as this user. The format of this file is
described above. The content of the file is not highly sensi-
tive, but the recommended permissions are read/write for the
user, and not accessible by others.
If this file, the ~/.ssh directory, or the user's home directory
are writable by other users, then the file could be modified or
replaced by unauthorized users. In this case, sshd will not
allow it to be used unless the StrictModes option has been set to
``no''.
~/.ssh/environment
This file is read into the environment at login (if it exists).
It can only contain empty lines, comment lines (that start with
`#'), and assignment lines of the form name=value. The file
should be writable only by the user; it need not be readable by
anyone else. Environment processing is disabled by default and
is controlled via the PermitUserEnvironment option.
~/.ssh/known_hosts
Contains a list of host keys for all hosts the user has logged
into that are not already in the systemwide list of known host
keys. The format of this file is described above. This file
should be writable only by root/the owner and can, but need not
be, world-readable.
~/.ssh/rc
Contains initialization routines to be run before the user's home
directory becomes accessible. This file should be writable only
by the user, and need not be readable by anyone else.
/etc/hosts.allow
/etc/hosts.deny
Access controls that should be enforced by tcp-wrappers are
defined here. Further details are described in hosts_access(5).
/etc/hosts.equiv
This file is for host-based authentication (see ssh(1)). It
should only be writable by root.
/etc/ssh/moduli
Contains Diffie-Hellman groups used for the "Diffie-Hellman Group
Exchange" key exchange method. The file format is described in
moduli(5). If no usable groups are found in this file then fixed
internal groups will be used.
/etc/motd
See motd(5).
/etc/nologin
If this file exists, sshd refuses to let anyone except root log
in. The contents of the file are displayed to anyone trying to
log in, and non-root connections are refused. The file should be
world-readable.
/etc/ssh/shosts.equiv
This file is used in exactly the same way as hosts.equiv, but
allows host-based authentication without permitting login with
rlogin/rsh.
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
These files contain the private parts of the host keys. These
files should only be owned by root, readable only by root, and
not accessible to others. Note that sshd does not start if these
files are group/world-accessible.
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub
These files contain the public parts of the host keys. These
files should be world-readable but writable only by root. Their
contents should match the respective private parts. These files
are not really used for anything; they are provided for the con-
venience of the user so their contents can be copied to known
hosts files. These files are created using ssh-keygen(1).
/etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts
Systemwide list of known host keys. This file should be prepared
by the system administrator to contain the public host keys of
all machines in the organization. The format of this file is
described above. This file should be writable only by root/the
owner and should be world-readable.
/etc/ssh/sshd_config
Contains configuration data for sshd. The file format and con-
figuration options are described in sshd_config(5).
/etc/ssh/sshrc
Similar to ~/.ssh/rc, it can be used to specify machine-specific
login-time initializations globally. This file should be
writable only by root, and should be world-readable.
/var/empty/sshd
chroot(2) directory used by sshd during privilege separation in
the pre-authentication phase. The directory should not contain
any files and must be owned by root and not group or world-
writable.
/var/run/sshd.pid
Contains the process ID of the sshd listening for connections (if
there are several daemons running concurrently for different
ports, this contains the process ID of the one started last).
The content of this file is not sensitive; it can be world-read-
able.
ENVIRONMENT
SSH_USE_STRONG_RNG
The reseeding of the OpenSSL random generator is usually done
from /dev/urandom. If the SSH_USE_STRONG_RNG environment vari-
able is set to value other than 0 the OpenSSL random generator is
reseeded from /dev/random. The number of bytes read is defined
by the SSH_USE_STRONG_RNG value. Minimum is 14 bytes. This set-
ting is not recommended on the computers without the hardware
random generator because insufficient entropy causes the connec-
tion to be blocked until enough entropy is available.
IPV6
IPv6 address can be used everywhere where IPv4 address. In all entries
must be the IPv6 address enclosed in square brackets. Note: The square
brackets are metacharacters for the shell and must be escaped in shell.
SEE ALSO
scp(1), sftp(1), ssh(1), ssh-add(1), ssh-agent(1), ssh-keygen(1),
ssh-keyscan(1), chroot(2), hosts_access(5), login.conf(5), moduli(5),
sshd_config(5), inetd(8), sftp-server(8)
AUTHORS
OpenSSH is a derivative of the original and free ssh 1.2.12 release by
Tatu Ylonen. Aaron Campbell, Bob Beck, Markus Friedl, Niels Provos, Theo
de Raadt and Dug Song removed many bugs, re-added newer features and cre-
ated OpenSSH. Markus Friedl contributed the support for SSH protocol
versions 1.5 and 2.0. Niels Provos and Markus Friedl contributed support
for privilege separation.
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