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Asked: 2024-09-26T22:44:58+05:30 In:

I am encountering an issue when trying to use the authenticator provider for SSH on my Ubuntu system. The error message indicates that the SSH SK provider could not be resolved when establishing an SSH connection. Can anyone provide guidance on how to resolve this problem?

I’ve been running into this issue that’s driving me a bit up the wall, and I’m hoping someone here can help me troubleshoot it. So, I’m trying to use the authenticator provider for SSH on my Ubuntu machine, and every time I attempt to establish an SSH connection, I’m met with this annoying error message that says the “SSH SK provider could not be resolved.”

I’ve done some digging to figure out what’s going wrong, but honestly, it just seems to lead me down a rabbit hole of technical jargon that I can barely wrap my head around. I mean, I thought I had everything set up correctly! I’ve made sure that all my system updates are up to date, and I’ve even reinstalled some SSH-related packages in hopes of fixing this.

For context, I’m trying to connect to a remote server that has been working fine previously, and I suspect it might have something to do with the recent changes I made to my authentication methods. I switched over to using a security key for two-factor authentication, which seemed like a good idea at the time to enhance security. But now, this issue has popped up, and it’s preventing me from accessing the server.

I’ve also tried checking my SSH configuration files for any discrepancies and looked into the PAM settings, but I’m still at a loss. It feels like there’s some obscure setting that I’ve overlooked.

If anyone has faced a similar issue or has some insight on what might be causing this error, I would really appreciate your guidance. Are there specific commands I should run to diagnose the issue further? Or maybe there’s something I need to configure differently on either the client or the server side? I’d be super grateful for any advice or tips you could share. Thanks so much for your help!

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    2 Answers


    1. Sounds like you’re in a bit of a pickle! The “SSH SK provider could not be resolved” error can be super frustrating, especially when everything was working fine before. Here are a few things you might wanna check:

      • Check your SSH version: Make sure you’re using an updated version of OpenSSH. You can check your version by running ssh -V. If it’s outdated, you might wanna update it using sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade.
      • Security Key Setup: Since you switched to using a security key, ensure that your key is correctly configured. You might wanna look into /etc/ssh/sshd_config and check for settings related to PubkeyAuthentication and AuthenticationMethods. Try setting AuthenticationMethods publickey to see if that helps.
      • Check PAM Settings: You mentioned checking PAM settings, but double-check that the line corresponding to SSH authenticator is enabled in /etc/pam.d/sshd. Look for something like auth required pam_u2f.so or similar, depending on your setup.
      • Log Files: Look at the SSH log files for any hints. You can check /var/log/auth.log for any relevant error messages. This could give you a clue about what’s actually going wrong.
      • Reverting Changes: If you suspect recent changes are causing the issue, try temporarily reverting any configuration changes you made and see if that resolves the problem. You can always reapply your changes one by one to find the culprit.

      Lastly, if you still can’t get it to work, you could check online forums or GitHub issues related to SSH and security keys—sometimes, other users have faced the same issues and might have shared solutions!

      Hope this helps, and you’re able to get back to connecting smoothly!



    2. It sounds like you’re encountering issues with the SSH security key provider settings. The error “SSH SK provider could not be resolved” often indicates that the system is having trouble locating the necessary authentication modules or libraries related to security keys. First, ensure that the necessary packages for the authenticator provider are installed. You can check and install them using the following command:

      sudo apt install libfido2-1 ssh-askpass. Additionally, verify your SSH configuration file at /etc/ssh/sshd_config to ensure that options related to security keys are correctly configured. Look for entries such as PubkeyAuthentication and ensure they are set to “yes”. Also, verify your version of SSH with ssh -V to confirm that it supports FIDO2 and security keys.

      On the client side, ensure that you have the appropriate permissions for your SSH config files and their containing directories. You may need to adjust permissions using chmod 700 ~/.ssh and chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config. If you’re using a Yubikey or similar for your two-factor authentication, make sure it is correctly inserted and recognized by the system. You can check for device recognition using lsusb. To diagnose further, consider using ssh -vvv user@host for verbose debugging output to pinpoint where the connection is failing. Keep an eye out for any relevant logs in /var/log/auth.log or journalctl that might provide additional insights into the problem. If changes were made recently regarding your authentication settings, revisiting them or even reverting temporarily may also highlight where the issue lies.


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