SSH Keys

Generate Keys

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -C "[e-mail]"

Key Type -t: rsa: RSA key type. dsa: DSA key type. ecdsa: ECDSA key type. ed25519: Ed25519 key type.

Key Length (-b): Specify the number of bits in the key.

Comment (-C): Add a comment to identify the key (usually an email address).

Output File (-f): Specify the filename for the key pair.

Passphrase (-N): Set a passphrase to protect the private key.

Passphrase (-P): Requests changing the passphrase of a private key file instead of creating a new private key. The program will prompt for the file containing the private key, for the old passphrase, and twice for the new passphrase.

Key Location: By default, keys are saved in ~/.ssh/ directory.

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -C "[e-mail]" -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa

This command generates an RSA key pair with a key length of 2048 bits and a comment of "[e-mail]". The keys will be saved as id_rsa (private key) and id_rsa.pub (public key) in the ~/.ssh/ directory.

Steal Keys

Find Private Keys

find / -name id_rsa	System-wide search for key by name.
locate id_rsa	Searches for key using the locate command.
grep -r -l "BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY" /etc/	Search /etc/ for keys
find ~/.ssh -name "id_rsa*" -type f	Search in home dir
find /etc/ssh -name "id_rsa*" -type f	Search for system-wide keys

Find Public Keys

find / -name "*.pub"	System-wide search for key files by name.
locate "*.pub"	Searches for key files using the locate command.
grep -r -l "ssh-rsa" /etc/	Search /etc/ for keys
find ~/ -name "[filename].pub" -type f	Search in home dir
find ~/.ssh -name "id_rsa*.pub" -type f	Search in home dir

Display SSH host key information:

ls -l /etc/ssh/ssh_host*

Look for .ssh and see if you can get the private key.

If you can, copy it to your attack box. Then change it's permissions:

chmod 600 root_key

Use the key to log in to that user that it belongs to.

ssh -i root_key -oPubkeyAcceptedKeyTypes=+ssh-rsa -oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa <user>@<targetIP>