How does YubiKey work with SSH?

Posted on by Muna Meyer

How does YubiKey work with SSH?

SSH uses public-key cryptography to authenticate the remote system and allow it to authenticate the user. Owners can secure private keys with the YubiKey by importing them or, better yet, generating the private key directly on the YubiKey. Private keys cannot be exported or extracted from the YubiKey.

How do I add SSH key to YubiKey?

Your key needs to have only Authenticate action enabled so we disable signing and encrypt by entering s, e and enable authenticate by entering a. Select 3 for the Authenticate key and you are done. You should now be able to use your existing key in the Yubikey to login to your ssh servers.

What is YubiKey for SSH authentication?

A YubiKey with OpenPGP can be used for logging in to remote SSH servers. In this setup, the Authentication subkey of an OpenPGP key is used as an SSH key to authenticate against a server. To ensure that the only way to log in is by using your YubiKey we recommend disabling password login on your SSH server.

Can I store SSH keys on YubiKey?

You can use a Yubikey USB device to securely generate and store your SSH key. This can be used to load your private key on demand, protected by a PIN.

What is password for SSH key?

With SSH keys, if someone gains access to your computer, they also gain access to every system that uses that key. To add an extra layer of security, you can add a passphrase to your SSH key. You can use ssh-agent to securely save your passphrase so you don’t have to reenter it.

How do I find my ssh-agent key?

Open . Enter ls -al ~/.ssh to see if existing SSH keys are present. Check the directory listing to see if you already have a public SSH key. By default, the filenames of supported public keys for GitHub are one of the following.

How do I use YubiKey with gpg?

Generating Keys externally from the YubiKey (Recommended)

  1. Insert the YubiKey into the USB port if it is not already plugged in.
  2. Enter the GPG command: gpg –expert –full-gen-key.
  3. When prompted to specify the key type, enter 1 (for “RSA and RSA (Default)”) and press Enter.
  4. Specify the size of key you want to generate.

How do I get a public key for YubiKey?

To generate the key run gpg –edit-card at the prompt enter admin and then generate . During this process you’ll be prompted to set two PIN codes, one for the key and another that acts as an Admin PIN. The defaults are 123456 and 12345678 respectively.

How do I use SSH agent and SSH add?

To use ssh-agent and ssh-add , follow the steps below:

  1. At the Unix prompt, enter: eval `ssh-agent` Make sure you use the backquote ( ` ), located under the tilde ( ~ ), rather than the single quote ( ‘ ).
  2. Enter the command: ssh-add.
  3. Enter your private key password.
  4. When you log out, enter the command: kill $SSH_AGENT_PID.

How do I find my public key on YubiKey?

The public key cannot be extracted from the Yubikey so you need to ensure you can still access it later. You can export it as above and keep that armored version around or better yet upload the key to a key server with gpg –send-keys > .

What is YubiKey Neo?

YubiKey NEO is a USB and NFC authentication key. It includes FIDO U2F, One-Time Password, and smart card functionality. To authenticate with a FIDO U2F certified YubiKey NEO, the user simply plugs it in and touches the gold button, or taps it against an NFC-enabled Android phone.

How do I reset my YubiKey?

Resetting the FIDO2 application

  1. Download and install YubiKey Manager.
  2. Insert your YubiKey or Security Key to an available USB port on your computer.
  3. Open YubiKey Manager.
  4. Navigate to Applications > FIDO2.
  5. Click Reset FIDO, then YES.
  6. Follow the prompts from YubiKey Manager to remove, re-insert, and touch your key.