[openssh.git] / ssh-keyscan.1

.\"	$OpenBSD: ssh-keyscan.1,v 1.3 2001/01/29 01:58:18 niklas Exp $
.\"
.Dd January 1, 1996
.Dt ssh-keyscan 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm ssh-keyscan
.Nd gather ssh public keys
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm ssh-keyscan
.Op Fl t Ar timeout
.Op Ar -- | host | addrlist namelist
.Op Fl f Ar files ...
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm
is a utility for gathering the public ssh host keys of a number of
hosts.  It was designed to aid in building and verifying
.Pa ssh_known_hosts
files.
.Nm
provides a minimal interface suitable for use by shell and perl
scripts.
.Pp
.Nm
uses non-blocking socket I/O to contact as many hosts as possible in
parallel, so it is very efficient.  The keys from a domain of 1,000
hosts can be collected in tens of seconds, even when some of those
hosts are down or do not run ssh.  You do not need login access to the
machines you are scanning, nor does does the scanning process involve
any encryption.
.Sh SECURITY
If you make an ssh_known_hosts file using
.Nm
without verifying the keys, you will be vulnerable to
.I man in the middle
attacks.
On the other hand, if your security model allows such a risk,
.Nm
can help you detect tampered keyfiles or man in the middle attacks which
have begun after you created your ssh_known_hosts file.
.Sh OPTIONS
.Bl -tag -width Ds
.It Fl t
Set the timeout for connection attempts.  If 
.Pa timeout
seconds have elapsed since a connection was initiated to a host or since the
last time anything was read from that host, then the connection is
closed and the host in question considered unavailable.  Default is 5
seconds.
.It Fl f
Read hosts or 
.Pa addrlist namelist
pairs from this file, one per line.
If
.Pa -
is supplied instead of a filename,
.Nm
will read hosts or 
.Pa addrlist namelist
pairs from the standard input.
.El
.Sh EXAMPLES
.Pp
Print the host key for machine
.Pa hostname :
.Bd -literal
ssh-keyscan hostname
.Ed
.Pp
Find all hosts from the file
.Pa ssh_hosts
which have new or different keys from those in the sorted file
.Pa ssh_known_hosts :
.Bd -literal
ssh-keyscan -f ssh_hosts | sort -u - ssh_known_hosts | \e\ 
	diff ssh_known_hosts -
.Ed
.Pp
.Sh FILES
.Pp
.Pa Input format:
1.2.3.4,1.2.4.4 name.my.domain,name,n.my.domain,n,1.2.3.4,1.2.4.4
.Pp
.Pa Output format:
host-or-namelist bits exponent modulus
.Pp
.Pa /etc/ssh_known_hosts
.Sh BUGS
It generates "Connection closed by remote host" messages on the consoles
of all the machines it scans.
This is because it opens a connection to the ssh port, reads the public
key, and drops the connection as soon as it gets the key.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr ssh 1
.Xr sshd 8
.Sh AUTHOR
David Mazieres <dm@lcs.mit.edu>
Commit	Line	Data
23c2a7a5	1	.\" $OpenBSD: ssh-keyscan.1,v 1.3 2001/01/29 01:58:18 niklas Exp $
23c2a7a5	2	.\"
f6fdbddf	3	.Dd January 1, 1996
	4	.Dt ssh-keyscan 1
	5	.Os
	6	.Sh NAME
	7	.Nm ssh-keyscan
	8	.Nd gather ssh public keys
	9	.Sh SYNOPSIS
	10	.Nm ssh-keyscan
	11	.Op Fl t Ar timeout
	12	.Op Ar -- \| host \| addrlist namelist
	13	.Op Fl f Ar files ...
	14	.Sh DESCRIPTION
	15	.Nm
	16	is a utility for gathering the public ssh host keys of a number of
	17	hosts. It was designed to aid in building and verifying
	18	.Pa ssh_known_hosts
	19	files.
	20	.Nm
	21	provides a minimal interface suitable for use by shell and perl
	22	scripts.
	23	.Pp
	24	.Nm
	25	uses non-blocking socket I/O to contact as many hosts as possible in
	26	parallel, so it is very efficient. The keys from a domain of 1,000
	27	hosts can be collected in tens of seconds, even when some of those
	28	hosts are down or do not run ssh. You do not need login access to the
	29	machines you are scanning, nor does does the scanning process involve
	30	any encryption.
	31	.Sh SECURITY
	32	If you make an ssh_known_hosts file using
	33	.Nm
	34	without verifying the keys, you will be vulnerable to
	35	.I man in the middle
	36	attacks.
	37	On the other hand, if your security model allows such a risk,
	38	.Nm
	39	can help you detect tampered keyfiles or man in the middle attacks which
	40	have begun after you created your ssh_known_hosts file.
	41	.Sh OPTIONS
	42	.Bl -tag -width Ds
	43	.It Fl t
	44	Set the timeout for connection attempts. If
	45	.Pa timeout
	46	seconds have elapsed since a connection was initiated to a host or since the
	47	last time anything was read from that host, then the connection is
	48	closed and the host in question considered unavailable. Default is 5
	49	seconds.
	50	.It Fl f
	51	Read hosts or
	52	.Pa addrlist namelist
	53	pairs from this file, one per line.
	54	If
	55	.Pa -
	56	is supplied instead of a filename,
	57	.Nm
	58	will read hosts or
	59	.Pa addrlist namelist
	60	pairs from the standard input.
9616313f	61	.El
f6fdbddf	62	.Sh EXAMPLES
	63	.Pp
	64	Print the host key for machine
	65	.Pa hostname :
	66	.Bd -literal
	67	ssh-keyscan hostname
	68	.Ed
	69	.Pp
	70	Find all hosts from the file
	71	.Pa ssh_hosts
	72	which have new or different keys from those in the sorted file
	73	.Pa ssh_known_hosts :
	74	.Bd -literal
	75	ssh-keyscan -f ssh_hosts \| sort -u - ssh_known_hosts \| \e\
	76	diff ssh_known_hosts -
	77	.Ed
	78	.Pp
	79	.Sh FILES
	80	.Pp
	81	.Pa Input format:
	82	1.2.3.4,1.2.4.4 name.my.domain,name,n.my.domain,n,1.2.3.4,1.2.4.4
	83	.Pp
	84	.Pa Output format:
	85	host-or-namelist bits exponent modulus
	86	.Pp
	87	.Pa /etc/ssh_known_hosts
	88	.Sh BUGS
	89	It generates "Connection closed by remote host" messages on the consoles
	90	of all the machines it scans.
	91	This is because it opens a connection to the ssh port, reads the public
	92	key, and drops the connection as soon as it gets the key.
	93	.Sh SEE ALSO
	94	.Xr ssh 1
	95	.Xr sshd 8
	96	.Sh AUTHOR
	97	David Mazieres <dm@lcs.mit.edu>