#!/usr/bin/env bash # # JbTecWiz Support Centre -- generated fix script # # Fault : "Permission denied (publickey)" # Fix : Fix the server side # Source: https://jbtecwiz.com/support/lnx-ssh-publickey # # Run as : Console or another session on the server # Expect : 20 minutes # Risk : medium # Reversible : yes # # WHEN THIS IS THE RIGHT FIX # You have another way in. Keep that session open until SSH is confirmed # working from a second terminal. # # HOW TO UNDO IT # Restore the previous sshd_config and restart. Keep the working session # open until the new one is proven. # # Walks the fix one step at a time and asks before each. Steps with no # command are yours to do -- it prints those and waits. DRYRUN=1 prints # without executing; UNATTENDED=1 does not ask. # # -------------------------------------------------------------------- # NO WARRANTY - USE AT YOUR OWN RISK # # This script is provided by JbTecWiz as-is and with no warranty of any # kind, express or implied. You run it entirely at your own risk. # # JbTecWiz accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from its # use, including but not limited to data loss, downtime, or configuration # changes that turn out to be wrong for your system. # # You are responsible for reading this script before running it, for # satisfying yourself that it suits the machine in front of you, and for # having a working backup first. Some steps cannot be undone. # -------------------------------------------------------------------- set -uo pipefail DRYRUN="${DRYRUN:-0}" UNATTENDED="${UNATTENDED:-0}" failed=0 rule() { printf "\n%s\n" "$(printf '-%.0s' $(seq 1 70))"; if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then echo "$1"; fi; } prose() { echo "$1" | fold -s -w 74 | sed "s/^/ /"; } # Returns 0 when the caller should run the command, 1 when it should not. # A manual step always returns 1 -- there is nothing for the caller to run. step() { # step [command lines...] local n="$1" dotext="$2" why="$3" mode="$4"; shift 4 rule " Step $n of 5" prose "$dotext" if [ -n "$why" ]; then echo; prose "$why"; fi if [ "$mode" = "manual" ]; then echo; echo " -> Do this yourself, then press Enter to carry on." if [ "$UNATTENDED" = "0" ] && [ "$DRYRUN" = "0" ]; then read -r _; fi return 1 fi echo; printf " %s\n" "$@"; echo if [ "$DRYRUN" = "1" ]; then echo " (dry run -- not executed)"; return 1; fi if [ "$UNATTENDED" = "0" ]; then read -r -p " Run this step? [Y]es / [S]kip / [Q]uit " a case "$a" in [Qq]*) echo " Stopped at your request."; exit 0 ;; [Ss]*) echo " Skipped."; return 1 ;; esac fi return 0 } rule echo " "Permission denied (publickey)"" echo " Fix the server side" echo echo " Risk: medium Reversible 20 minutes" echo prose 'No warranty. Use at your own risk - JbTecWiz accepts no liability. Read it before you run it, and have a backup.' rule echo if [ "$UNATTENDED" = "0" ] && [ "$DRYRUN" = "0" ]; then read -r -p " Ready? [y/N] " go case "$go" in [Yy]*) ;; *) echo " Nothing was changed."; exit 0;; esac fi if step 1 'Read the server'\''s own reason for refusing.' '' cmd 'sudo journalctl -u ssh -u sshd -n 50 --no-pager'; then sudo journalctl -u ssh -u sshd -n 50 --no-pager if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then failed=$((failed+1)) echo " Step 1 failed. The rest of the fix may depend on it." >&2 fi fi if step 2 'Fix permissions. sshd refuses group- or world-writable paths anywhere in the chain.' 'This is the cause the overwhelming majority of the time, and sshd logs it as '\''Authentication refused: bad ownership or modes'\''.' cmd 'sudo chown -R user:user /home/user/.ssh' 'sudo chmod 700 /home/user/.ssh' 'sudo chmod 600 /home/user/.ssh/authorized_keys' 'sudo chmod 755 /home/user'; then sudo chown -R user:user /home/user/.ssh sudo chmod 700 /home/user/.ssh sudo chmod 600 /home/user/.ssh/authorized_keys sudo chmod 755 /home/user if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then failed=$((failed+1)) echo " Step 2 failed. The rest of the fix may depend on it." >&2 fi fi if step 3 'On RHEL, Rocky, Alma or Fedora, restore the SELinux context.' 'A file created by copying rather than by ssh-copy-id often ends up with the wrong context, and sshd cannot read it even though the mode bits look right.' cmd 'sudo restorecon -Rv /home/user/.ssh'; then sudo restorecon -Rv /home/user/.ssh if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then failed=$((failed+1)) echo " Step 3 failed. The rest of the fix may depend on it." >&2 fi fi if step 4 'Confirm the daemon config allows key auth and check for a Match block overriding it.' 'sshd -T prints the effective configuration after all includes and defaults, which is not always what the config file appears to say.' cmd 'sudo sshd -T | grep -Ei '\''pubkeyauthentication|authorizedkeysfile|permitrootlogin|allowusers|allowgroups'\'''; then sudo sshd -T | grep -Ei 'pubkeyauthentication|authorizedkeysfile|permitrootlogin|allowusers|allowgroups' if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then failed=$((failed+1)) echo " Step 4 failed. The rest of the fix may depend on it." >&2 fi fi if step 5 'Test the config before restarting, so a typo cannot lock everyone out.' '' cmd 'sudo sshd -t && sudo systemctl restart ssh'; then sudo sshd -t && sudo systemctl restart ssh if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then failed=$((failed+1)) echo " Step 5 failed. The rest of the fix may depend on it." >&2 fi fi rule " Confirm it worked" prose 'A brand new SSH session connects while the original one is still open.' if [ "$DRYRUN" = "0" ]; then ssh -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 user@host 'echo connected' fi rule if [ "$failed" -gt 0 ]; then echo " Finished with $failed failed step(s)." echo " Read the full write-up at https://jbtecwiz.com/support/lnx-ssh-publickey" else echo " Finished." fi echo prose 'To undo: Restore the previous sshd_config and restart. Keep the working session open until the new one is proven.' rule