SSH Access Problem / Full Verbose

Question

I want to get:

connect through SSH protocol, from my computer (private key with passphrase)
and not with Passwort set up with DO.
specially not from any other computer

My Problem - Short:

i cannot login,

ssh root@139.59.209.65
root@139.59.209.65: Permission denied (publickey).

verbose output at the bottom (scroll down)

ssh -vvv root@139.59.209.65

I followed this https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-ssh-keys-2 where i choose Debian10 and it took me here:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-ssh-keys-on-debian-10

IMPORTANT NOTE: here may lie the answer:

/etc/ssh/sshd_config
PermitRootLogin without-password

Tutorial have code (above), words without password are yellow, but not described what I assume to change there.

Permission:

Files Permision: drwx------ 2 mx mx 4096 Feb 8 10:51 . drwxr-xr-x 35 mx mx 4096 Feb 8 07:14 … -rw------- 1 mx mx 1856 Feb 7 23:09 digiocean -rw-r–r-- 1 mx mx 387 Feb 7 23:09 digiocean.pub -rw-r–r-- 1 mx mx 3108 Feb 8 12:09 known_hosts

Directory Permision: drwx------ 2 mx mx 4096 Feb 8 12:14 .ssh

My steps:

Access Droplet : from DO console, allow Pass

nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
(uncomment) PasswordAuthentication yes
systemctl restart ssh
exit

Copy Public Key to the Droplet

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/DigiOceKey.pub root@IPv4

Access Droplet : from Terminal, decline Pass

nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
(comment)PasswordAuthentication yes
systemctl restart ssh
exit

Access Droplet : from Terminal, hoping that SSH keys pair will work

root@IPv4 - failed root@139.59.209.65: Permission denied (publickey).

(full verbose log at the bottom)

Below are logs from :

1/4. SSHD config DO 2/4. SSH config DO 3/4. SSH config local 4/4. ssh -vvv root@139.59.209.65

Aside: is there something obvious i suppose to harden in my SSH config Local?

1/4. SSHD config DO

# This is the sshd server system-wide configuration file.  See
# sshd_config(5) for more information.

# This sshd was compiled with PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

# The strategy used for options in the default sshd_config shipped with
# OpenSSH is to specify options with their default value where
# possible, but leave them commented.  Uncommented options override the
# default value.

#Port 22
#AddressFamily any
#ListenAddress 0.0.0.0
#ListenAddress ::

#HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
#HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
#HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key

# Ciphers and keying
#RekeyLimit default none

# Logging
#SyslogFacility AUTH
#LogLevel INFO

# Authentication:

#LoginGraceTime 2m
PermitRootLogin yes
#StrictModes yes
#MaxAuthTries 6
#MaxSessions 10

#PubkeyAuthentication yes

# Expect .ssh/authorized_keys2 to be disregarded by default in future.
#AuthorizedKeysFile     .ssh/authorized_keys .ssh/authorized_keys2

#AuthorizedPrincipalsFile none

#AuthorizedKeysCommand none
#AuthorizedKeysCommandUser nobody

# For this to work you will also need host keys in /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts
#HostbasedAuthentication no
# Change to yes if you don't trust ~/.ssh/known_hosts for
# HostbasedAuthentication
#IgnoreUserKnownHosts no
# Don't read the user's ~/.rhosts and ~/.shosts files
#IgnoreRhosts yes

# To disable tunneled clear text passwords, change to no here!
#PasswordAuthentication yes
#PermitEmptyPasswords no

# Change to yes to enable challenge-response passwords (beware issues with
# some PAM modules and threads)
ChallengeResponseAuthentication no

# Kerberos options
#KerberosAuthentication no
#KerberosOrLocalPasswd yes
#KerberosTicketCleanup yes
#KerberosGetAFSToken no

# GSSAPI options
#GSSAPIAuthentication no
#GSSAPICleanupCredentials yes
#GSSAPIStrictAcceptorCheck yes
#GSSAPIKeyExchange no

# Set this to 'yes' to enable PAM authentication, account processing,
# and session processing. If this is enabled, PAM authentication will
# be allowed through the ChallengeResponseAuthentication and
# PasswordAuthentication.  Depending on your PAM configuration,
# PAM authentication via ChallengeResponseAuthentication may bypass
# the setting of "PermitRootLogin yes
# If you just want the PAM account and session checks to run without
# PAM authentication, then enable this but set PasswordAuthentication
# and ChallengeResponseAuthentication to 'no'.
UsePAM yes

#AllowAgentForwarding yes
#AllowTcpForwarding yes
#GatewayPorts no
X11Forwarding yes
#X11DisplayOffset 10
#X11UseLocalhost yes
#PermitTTY yes
PrintMotd no
#PrintLastLog yes
#TCPKeepAlive yes
#PermitUserEnvironment no
#Compression delayed
#ClientAliveInterval 0
#ClientAliveCountMax 3
#UseDNS no
#PidFile /var/run/sshd.pid
#MaxStartups 10:30:100
#PermitTunnel no
#ChrootDirectory none
#VersionAddendum none
# no default banner path
#Banner none

# Allow client to pass locale environment variables
AcceptEnv LANG LC_*

# override default of no subsystems
Subsystem sftp  /usr/lib/openssh/sftp-server

# Example of overriding settings on a per-user basis
#Match User anoncvs
#       X11Forwarding no
#       AllowTcpForwarding no
#       PermitTTY no
#       ForceCommand cvs server
PasswordAuthentication no

2/4. SSH config DO

# This is the ssh client system-wide configuration file.  See
# ssh_config(5) for more information.  This file provides defaults for
# users, and the values can be changed in per-user configuration files
# or on the command line.

# Configuration data is parsed as follows:
#  1. command line options
#  2. user-specific file
#  3. system-wide file
# Any configuration value is only changed the first time it is set.
# Thus, host-specific definitions should be at the beginning of the
# configuration file, and defaults at the end.

# Site-wide defaults for some commonly used options.  For a comprehensive
# list of available options, their meanings and defaults, please see the
# ssh_config(5) man page.

Host *
#   ForwardAgent no
#   ForwardX11 no
#   ForwardX11Trusted yes
#   PasswordAuthentication yes
#   HostbasedAuthentication no
#   GSSAPIAuthentication no
#   GSSAPIDelegateCredentials no
#   GSSAPIKeyExchange no
#   GSSAPITrustDNS no
#   BatchMode no
#   CheckHostIP yes
#   AddressFamily any
#   ConnectTimeout 0
#   StrictHostKeyChecking ask
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_dsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
#   Port 22
#   Protocol 2
#   Ciphers aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-cbc,3des-cbc
#   MACs hmac-md5,hmac-sha1,umac-64@openssh.com
#   EscapeChar ~
#   Tunnel no
#   TunnelDevice any:any
#   PermitLocalCommand no
#   VisualHostKey no
#   ProxyCommand ssh -q -W %h:%p gateway.example.com
#   RekeyLimit 1G 1h
    SendEnv LANG LC_*
    HashKnownHosts yes
    GSSAPIAuthentication yes

3/4. SSH Local

# This is the ssh client system-wide configuration file.  See
# ssh_config(5) for more information.  This file provides defaults for
# users, and the values can be changed in per-user configuration files
# or on the command line.

# Configuration data is parsed as follows:
#  1. command line options
#  2. user-specific file
#  3. system-wide file
# Any configuration value is only changed the first time it is set.
# Thus, host-specific definitions should be at the beginning of the
# configuration file, and defaults at the end.

# Site-wide defaults for some commonly used options.  For a comprehensive
# list of available options, their meanings and defaults, please see the
# ssh_config(5) man page.

Host *
#   ForwardAgent no
#   ForwardX11 no
#   ForwardX11Trusted yes
#   PasswordAuthentication yes
#   HostbasedAuthentication no
#   GSSAPIAuthentication no
#   GSSAPIDelegateCredentials no
#   GSSAPIKeyExchange no
#   GSSAPITrustDNS no
#   BatchMode no
#   CheckHostIP yes
#   AddressFamily any
#   ConnectTimeout 0
#   StrictHostKeyChecking ask
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_dsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
#   Port 22
#   Protocol 2
#   Ciphers aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-cbc,3des-cbc
#   MACs hmac-md5,hmac-sha1,umac-64@openssh.com
#   EscapeChar ~
#   Tunnel no
#   TunnelDevice any:any
#   PermitLocalCommand no
#   VisualHostKey no
#   ProxyCommand ssh -q -W %h:%p gateway.example.com
#   RekeyLimit 1G 1h
    SendEnv LANG LC_*
    HashKnownHosts yes
    GSSAPIAuthentication yes

4/4. ssh -vvv root@139.59.209.65

OpenSSH_7.9p1 Debian-10+deb10u2, OpenSSL 1.1.1d  10 Sep 2019
debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config
debug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for *
debug2: resolve_canonicalize: hostname 139.59.209.65 is address
debug2: ssh_connect_direct
debug1: Connecting to 139.59.209.65 [139.59.209.65] port 22.
debug1: Connection established.
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_rsa type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_rsa-cert type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_dsa type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_dsa-cert type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_ecdsa type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_ecdsa-cert type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_ed25519 type 3
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_ed25519-cert type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_xmss type -1
debug1: identity file /home/mx/.ssh/id_xmss-cert type -1
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_7.9p1 Debian-10+deb10u2
debug1: Remote protocol version 2.0, remote software version OpenSSH_7.9p1 Debian-10+deb10u2
debug1: match: OpenSSH_7.9p1 Debian-10+deb10u2 pat OpenSSH* compat 0x04000000
debug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK
debug1: Authenticating to 139.59.209.65:22 as 'root'
debug3: hostkeys_foreach: reading file "/home/mx/.ssh/known_hosts"
debug3: record_hostkey: found key type ECDSA in file /home/mx/.ssh/known_hosts:15
debug3: load_hostkeys: loaded 1 keys from 139.59.209.65
debug3: order_hostkeyalgs: prefer hostkeyalgs: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521
debug3: send packet: type 20
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent
debug3: receive packet: type 20
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received
debug2: local client KEXINIT proposal
debug2: KEX algorithms: curve25519-sha256,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org,ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256,diffie-hellman-group16-sha512,diffie-hellman-group18-sha512,diffie-hellman-group14-sha256,diffie-hellman-group14-sha1,ext-info-c
debug2: host key algorithms: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521,ssh-ed25519-cert-v01@openssh.com,rsa-sha2-512-cert-v01@openssh.com,rsa-sha2-256-cert-v01@openssh.com,ssh-rsa-cert-v01@openssh.com,ssh-ed25519,rsa-sha2-512,rsa-sha2-256,ssh-rsa
debug2: ciphers ctos: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com
debug2: ciphers stoc: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com
debug2: MACs ctos: umac-64-etm@openssh.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha1-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512,hmac-sha1
debug2: MACs stoc: umac-64-etm@openssh.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha1-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512,hmac-sha1# This is the ssh client system-wide configuration file.  See
# ssh_config(5) for more information.  This file provides defaults for
# users, and the values can be changed in per-user configuration files
# or on the command line.

# Configuration data is parsed as follows:
#  1. command line options
#  2. user-specific file
#  3. system-wide file
# Any configuration value is only changed the first time it is set.
# Thus, host-specific definitions should be at the beginning of the
# configuration file, and defaults at the end.

# Site-wide defaults for some commonly used options.  For a comprehensive
# list of available options, their meanings and defaults, please see the
# ssh_config(5) man page.

Host *
#   ForwardAgent no
#   ForwardX11 no
#   ForwardX11Trusted yes
#   PasswordAuthentication yes
#   HostbasedAuthentication no
#   GSSAPIAuthentication no
#   GSSAPIDelegateCredentials no
#   GSSAPIKeyExchange no
#   GSSAPITrustDNS no
#   BatchMode no
#   CheckHostIP yes
#   AddressFamily any
#   ConnectTimeout 0
#   StrictHostKeyChecking ask
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_dsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa
#   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
#   Port 22
#   Protocol 2
#   Ciphers aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-cbc,3des-cbc
#   MACs hmac-md5,hmac-sha1,umac-64@openssh.com
#   EscapeChar ~
#   Tunnel no
#   TunnelDevice any:any
#   PermitLocalCommand no
#   VisualHostKey no
#   ProxyCommand ssh -q -W %h:%p gateway.example.com
#   RekeyLimit 1G 1h
    SendEnv LANG LC_*
    HashKnownHosts yes
    GSSAPIAuthentication yes

debug2: compression ctos: none,zlib@openssh.com,zlib
debug2: compression stoc: none,zlib@openssh.com,zlib
debug2: languages ctos: 
debug2: languages stoc: 
debug2: first_kex_follows 0 
debug2: reserved 0 
debug2: peer server KEXINIT proposal
debug2: KEX algorithms: curve25519-sha256,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org,ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256,diffie-hellman-group16-sha512,diffie-hellman-group18-sha512,diffie-hellman-group14-sha256,diffie-hellman-group14-sha1
debug2: host key algorithms: rsa-sha2-512,rsa-sha2-256,ssh-rsa,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ssh-ed25519
debug2: ciphers ctos: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com
debug2: ciphers stoc: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com
debug2: MACs ctos: umac-64-etm@openssh
SS.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha1-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512,hmac-sha1
debug2: MACs stoc: umac-64-etm@openssh.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha1-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512,hmac-sha1
debug2: compression ctos: none,zlib@openssh.com
debug2: compression stoc: none,zlib@openssh.com
debug2: languages ctos: 
debug2: languages stoc: 
debug2: first_kex_follows 0 
debug2: reserved 0 
debug1: kex: algorithm: curve25519-sha256
debug1: kex: host key algorithm: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256
debug1: kex: server->client cipher: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com MAC: <implicit> compression: none
debug1: kex: client->server cipher: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com MAC: <implicit> compression: none
debug3: send packet: type 30
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_ECDH_REPLY
debug3: receive packet: type 31
debug1: Server host key: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 SHA256:rnvhSUU8boUskHhznk0kH/SPxhMry+nZQzPSppxjSGk
debug3: hostkeys_foreach: reading file "/home/mx/.ssh/known_hosts"
debug3: record_hostkey: found key type ECDSA in file /home/mx/.ssh/known_hosts:15
debug3: load_hostkeys: loaded 1 keys from 139.59.209.65
debug1: Host '139.59.209.65' is known and matches the ECDSA host key.
debug1: Found key in /home/mx/.ssh/known_hosts:15
debug3: send packet: type 21
debug2: set_newkeys: mode 1
debug1: rekey after 134217728 blocks
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS
debug3: receive packet: type 21
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS received
debug2: set_newkeys: mode 0
debug1: rekey after 134217728 blocks
debug1: Will attempt key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_rsa 
debug1: Will attempt key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_dsa 
debug1: Will attempt key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_ecdsa 
debug1: Will attempt key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_ed25519 ED25519 SHA256:qpfsC5wOaKhEglv9IabEwza/uwrU92BN/WwToGnAcqE
debug1: Will attempt key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_xmss 
debug2: pubkey_prepare: done
debug3: send packet: type 5
debug3: receive packet: type 7
debug1: SSH2_MSG_EXT_INFO received
debug1: kex_input_ext_info: server-sig-algs=<ssh-ed25519,ssh-rsa,rsa-sha2-256,rsa-sha2-512,ssh-dss,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521>
debug3: receive packet: type 6
debug2: service_accept: ssh-userauth
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_ACCEPT received
debug3: send packet: type 50
debug3: receive packet: type 51
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey
debug3: start over, passed a different list publickey
debug3: preferred gssapi-keyex,gssapi-with-mic,publickey,keyboard-interactive,password
debug3: authmethod_lookup publickey
debug3: remaining preferred: keyboard-interactive,password
debug3: authmethod_is_enabled publickey
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_rsa
debug3: no such identity: /home/mx/.ssh/id_rsa: No such file or directory
debug1: Trying private key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_dsa
debug3: no such identity: /home/mx/.ssh/id_dsa: No such file or directory
debug1: Trying private key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_ecdsa
debug3: no such identity: /home/mx/.ssh/id_ecdsa: No such file or directory
debug1: Offering public key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_ed25519 ED25519 SHA256:qpfsC5wOaKhEglv9IabEwza/uwrU92BN/WwToGnAcqE
debug3: send packet: type 50
debug2: we sent a publickey packet, wait for reply
debug3: receive packet: type 51
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /home/mx/.ssh/id_xmss
debug3: no such identity: /home/mx/.ssh/id_xmss: No such file or directory
debug2: we did not send a packet, disable method
debug1: No more authentication methods to try.
root@139.59.209.65: Permission denied (publickey).

Bobby · Answer

Hi there @sobeit2020 , Have you uploaded your local public SSH key to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on your Droplet? For the verbose output that you’ve shared, it looks like that your public SSH key is not added to the Droplet. Regards,Bobby

sobeit2020 · Answer

Yes, that is the answer,

additionally I would add, to create a config file in the ~/.ssh/ directory (chmod 600) and then populate it with your hosts settings.

That way, all chosen settings would already have and private keys and ports and other interesting data implemented, so in the long run it wouldn’t be necessary to manually provision them each time, # :)

sobeit2020 · Answer

hmm, so lets see @bobbyiliev root@139.59.209.65:~/.ssh $ ls authorized_keys root@139.59.209.65:~/.ssh $ cat authorized_keys sha-rsa CFpIkjGnqCFpIkjwGVpuCFpIkjGnqnqCFpIkjAAAADAGnqCFpIkjGnxqCFpIkjGnqCFpIkjGnqCFpIkp:iGnqCFpcxkjGnqCFpIkjGVpuCFpIkjGnqnqCFpIkjAAAADAGn9q/CFpIkjGneqCFpIkjGnqCFpIkujGnqCFps\IkqjGnqCFpIqkjGnqCFpIkjGnqCFpIkjGVpuCFpIkjGnqnqgCFpIk+jAA1AADAGnqCFpIkjGnqCFpIkjGnqCFpIkjGnqCFp)IkjGnq a@a i have the key which i’ve pulled, from my local machine with ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/Key.pub root@139.59.209.65 that suppose to be enough, or it suppose to be other way around? from server to local? I mean, I repeated this action a few times and got the same result everywhere, so obviously I must be doing something wrong, but no clue what. Thanks in advance :) What is interesting to point attention on as well, is that the file /etc/ssh/sshd_config, #PasswordAuthentication yes in the middle of the file and them PasswordAuthentication no on the bottom of the file, which i found odd, because the same function if called twice.