ssh-keygen: passphrase.

Damien Miller djm at mindrot.org
Fri Jan 12 11:55:16 EST 2001


On Thu, 11 Jan 2001, Sunil K. Vallamkonda wrote:

> 
> Looking at openSSH INSTALL:
> 
> To generate a host key, run "make host-key". Alternately you can do so
> manually using the following commands:
> 
>     ssh-keygen -b 1024 -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key -N ""
>     ssh-keygen -d -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key -N ""
> 
> But when I try latter, I get:
> 
> (gdb) n
> 1  0x35a6 in save_private_key_ssh2 (
>     filename=0xb2d2c "/mydir/ssh_host_dsa_key",
>     _passphrase=0xb90f0 "''", key=0xc0360, comment=0xefbf91b0
> "user at host")
>     at authfile.c:172

I am not sure what you are saying here - what is the problem you are 
seeing?

> ^^^^^^^^^
> This means:
> 
> In authfile.c - save_private_key_ssh2(..):
> 
> <clipped>
>     if (len > 0 && len <= 4) {
>         error("passphrase too short: %d bytes", len);
>         errno = 0;
>         return 0;
>     }
> 
> <clipped>
> 
> 
> Any ideas why this check, when INSTALL says passphrase not required ?

Read the check again - 0 length passphrases are allowed.

-d

-- 
| ``We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on | Damien Miller -
| a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the | <djm at mindrot.org>
| works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, / 
| we know this is not true.'' - Robert Wilensky UCB / http://www.mindrot.org







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