SSH Key problem

[Illusion]

Hi Guys,

I have recently done a fresh install of Debian 4 and created an SSH key pair on my desktop machine with the intentions of using it to connect without the need for passwords.

I have put the contents of id_rsa.pub in authorized keys on the debian server but when I try to connect to it, it just says connection closed by xx.xx.xx.xx. If I rename my .ssh folder on my desktop machine so that it doesn't try to authenticate with the key pair then it works fine.

This is something I have come across before and never really had chance to diagnose, can anyone give any advice on what could cause this? Is it a config issue on the server side etc?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Whiskas]

Doesnt tell us a great deal tbh- can you run the ssh with the -vv or -vvv options for more debugging information?

 

[mattross]

It's usually the permissions on the files and folders that prevents this working, especially if strict modes are on. Try setting your .ssh folder to 'chmod 700' and the authorized_keys file to 'chmod 600 ...'.

Take a look in /var/log/syslog for details of the error or as Whiskas says enable debugging output. You will need debugging on the server side rather than the client though.