Unable to SSH using the various methods

Question

Unable to SSH using the various methods

Michael Drapkin 25

I cannot connect to my VM. All of your methods, including Bastion (which I do not want to pay for) all fail. I suspect there is some kind of public/private key problem, but I cannot find usable documentation on how to solve the problem.

Marcin Policht 49,640 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-03-28T15:45:02.7166667+00:00

Follow https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/linux/troubleshoot-ssh-connection

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin
Michael Drapkin 25 Reputation points

2025-03-28T16:32:24.35+00:00

The solutions in the link do not address the problem. When I try to SSH using any of the methods on the Azure portal, I get a variation of the following:

Permission denied (publickey)

The methods to fix that all involve connecting to the server using SSH, which I cannot do.
Markapuram Sudheer Reddy 2,050 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-28T19:45:00.1133333+00:00

Hi Michael Drapkin,

We have noticed that you have rated an answer as not helpful. We appreciate your feedback and are committed to improving your experience with the Q&A.

The issue is in the authentication process because the server is not able to recognize the key.

Try to verify private key file exist in the ~/.ssh directory on the local machine, if not move private key file into .ssh directory and execute the below command:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<name of pem file>.pem username@ip

Please check below workaround and the article reference provided here for more information:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1115347/ssh-permission-denied-(publickey)

If the information is helpful, please click on "Accept Answer" and "Upvote"

If you have any queries, please do let us know, we will help you.
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-31T11:25:05.45+00:00

Hi @Michael Drapkin,

We appreciate your feedback regarding the above answer not being helpful. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. Let’s continue this discussion via private message to better address your concerns.

Thank You!
Michael Drapkin 25 Reputation points

2025-03-31T15:19:39.8733333+00:00

The problem is that there was an invisible group permission connected to the private key file that was preventing SSH from working. I did a deep dive with ChatGPT which identified this problem, and generated the command for removing that group. One it was removed, then I was able to connect to my new Azure VPS and continue working.

Accepted answer

0 additional answers

Your answer

Marcin Policht 49,640 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-03-28T15:45:02.7166667+00:00

Follow https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/linux/troubleshoot-ssh-connection

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin
Michael Drapkin 25 Reputation points

2025-03-28T16:32:24.35+00:00

The solutions in the link do not address the problem. When I try to SSH using any of the methods on the Azure portal, I get a variation of the following:

Permission denied (publickey)

The methods to fix that all involve connecting to the server using SSH, which I cannot do.
Markapuram Sudheer Reddy 2,050 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-28T19:45:00.1133333+00:00

Hi Michael Drapkin,

We have noticed that you have rated an answer as not helpful. We appreciate your feedback and are committed to improving your experience with the Q&A.

The issue is in the authentication process because the server is not able to recognize the key.

Try to verify private key file exist in the ~/.ssh directory on the local machine, if not move private key file into .ssh directory and execute the below command:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<name of pem file>.pem username@ip

Please check below workaround and the article reference provided here for more information:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1115347/ssh-permission-denied-(publickey)

If the information is helpful, please click on "Accept Answer" and "Upvote"

If you have any queries, please do let us know, we will help you.
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-31T11:25:05.45+00:00

Hi @Michael Drapkin,

We appreciate your feedback regarding the above answer not being helpful. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. Let’s continue this discussion via private message to better address your concerns.

Thank You!
Michael Drapkin 25 Reputation points

2025-03-31T15:19:39.8733333+00:00

The problem is that there was an invisible group permission connected to the private key file that was preventing SSH from working. I did a deep dive with ChatGPT which identified this problem, and generated the command for removing that group. One it was removed, then I was able to connect to my new Azure VPS and continue working.

Answer 1

Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Michael Drapkin,

Good catch! Glad the issue is resolved for you finally. I will have this answer promoted by reposting it. As an Original Poster(You) will not be able to accept your own answer. This is in the attempt to help others looking for a solution for a similar issue.

The group permissions were linked to the private key file, which was preventing SSH from working. By removing it, it was able to connect to new Azure VPS and continue working.

Thanks again for sharing the solution here. Have a good day! User's image

Share via

Unable to SSH using the various methods

0 additional answers

Your answer