https://linuxtransfer.com/tags/hardening/Recent content in Hardening on Linux SecurityHugoenMon, 05 Oct 2026 08:06:56 +0200https://linuxtransfer.com/post/2026-10-05-whysshkeeps-asking-for-a-password-after-addin/Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:06:56 +0200https://linuxtransfer.com/post/2026-10-05-whysshkeeps-asking-for-a-password-after-addin/<h2 id="why-ssh-still-asks-for-a-password-after-adding-a-key">Why SSH Still Asks for a Password After Adding a Key</h2> <p>Adding a public key to <code>~/.ssh/authorized_keys</code> is the first step toward password‑less login, but the SSH daemon can still fall back to password authentication for a handful of reasons. The most common culprit is a mis‑configured <code>PubkeyAuthentication</code> setting in <code>/etc/ssh/sshd_config</code> or a permissions problem that causes the server to ignore the key file.</p> <hr> <h3 id="1-verify-the-key-is-accepted-by-the-server">1. Verify the Key Is Accepted by the Server</h3> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="c1"># On the client</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl">ssh -vvv user@host </span></span></code></pre></div><p>The <code>-vvv</code> flag prints the entire authentication dance. Look for lines like:</p>