Generate SSH Key for Wheel Group User

[Deleted member 568311]

I've disabled the password SSH login as suggested by the Security Advisor. I've also disabled root logins and have created an elevated user. How do I make a public and private key for the elevated user?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello

You can generate a SSH key for the wheel user by accessing cPanel as that user and browsing to:

"cPanel >> SSH/Shell Access"

Otherwise, you can temporarily enable password authentication so you can access SSH as the user and generate a key using:

ssh-keygen -t rsa

Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 568311]

Hello

You can generate a SSH key for the wheel user by accessing cPanel as that user and browsing to:

"cPanel >> SSH/Shell Access"

Otherwise, you can temporarily enable password authentication so you can access SSH as the user and generate a key using:

ssh-keygen -t rsa

Thank you.

The user I created does not have an account on the server. I just did a "useradd" in CentOS, and I couldn't login to WHM or cPanel with the elevated user. I generated a key regardless just by enabling password auth. The server keeps refusing the key. How do I make them authorized?

 

[cPanelMichael]

You can import the public key via:

"WHM Home » Security Center » Manage root’s SSH Keys"

Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 568311]

Thanks for the help so far,

I've imported both the public and private key, and have authorized them under the ROOT SSH keys section. I've also run the keys through PuTTY Gen and have tried to run them through putty. When I try and login through Putty, I get another server refused key error.

==Update==

One more quick question, the server also seems to be rejecting public keys. Is this by default? How do I make it accept public keys.

 

[cPanelMichael]

Typically, you authorize the public SSH key on the server, and then use the private key when accessing SSH from your computer.

Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 568311]

Let me just recap real quick. I used the useradd command to add a new user. I added that user to the wheelgroup. I generated a keypair with the code you gave me, and I uploaded them to the server with the "manage root keys" function as stated. The wheel user can't use the keys but root can.

How do I generate a keypair that a wheel group user is authorized to use, as the server keeps refusing root keys for said user?

 

[cPanelMichael]

I generated a keypair with the code you gave me, and I uploaded them to the server with the "manage root keys" function as stated. The wheel user can't use the keys but root can.

Did you click on "Manage Authorization" for the public key in "WHM Home » Security Center » Manage root’s SSH Keys" and authorize it?

Thank you.

 

[bhadazz]

Let me just recap real quick. I used the useradd command to add a new user. I added that user to the wheelgroup. I generated a keypair with the code you gave me, and I uploaded them to the server with the "manage root keys" function as stated. The wheel user can't use the keys but root can.

How do I generate a keypair that a wheel group user is authorized to use, as the server keeps refusing root keys for said user?

zlesavich: I had the same issue. If you didn't resolve it yet do this.

Create a new user inside WHM (not via ssh) with a fake domain like: admin.com
Go into that user's cPanel (https://[server-ip]:2087/cpsess[whatever]/xfercpanel/[admin]
Create your keys in the cPanel admin of the fake admin.com domain you just created
Go back into WHM and import the new key info just as you did before

Hope this helps!