Taking password from a file while SSH ing into a machine

Question

I want to SSH into a remote machine but instead of typing the password, I want to redirect it from another file.

So I have a file password.txt that stores the password. File.sh is my bash file.

In File.sh

#!/bin/bash
ssh -T [email protected]

While executing the file, I did:

./File.sh < password.txt

But I was asked to enter password anyway.

How do I get the password to be input from the file?

You might want to read this question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1340366/how-to-make-ssh-receive-the-password-from-stdin — Peter Cliff, Sep 22 '16 at 08:03

Lambert · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-22T11:41:59.393

16

SSH with 'password in a file' is commonly used as public key authentication. Create a key pair using ssh-keygen, upload the public key to the other host:

scp ./.ssh/id_rsa.pub [email protected]:~/

and place it as ~/.ssh/authorized_keys:

ssh [email protected]
mkdir ~/.ssh
mv ~/id_rsa.pub ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

or, if an authorized_keys file already exists:

cat ~/id_rsa.pub >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

set the appropriate permissions (600 for the file, 700 for the directory):

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 700 ~/.ssh

and start a new ssh session.

edited Sep 22 '16 at 11:41

answered Sep 22 '16 at 07:59

Lambert

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Hello, I suggested an edit that appends to `authorized_keys` instead of overwriting it if it already exists. – Kos Sep 22 '16 at 10:18
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This doesn't precisely answers the question imho, he asked for a password clearly stored in a txt – capitano666 Sep 22 '16 at 15:51

score 8 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 22 '16 at 08:01

8

You can use sshpass to do that:

sshpass -f password.txt ssh -T [email protected]

answered Sep 22 '16 at 08:01

Jakuje

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Does sshpass require superuser privileges? Because it says command not found for me. – Mahathi Vempati Sep 22 '16 at 16:15
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No. It does not. But you have to install it before trying to run it. It is not clear what your OS is. – Jakuje Sep 22 '16 at 16:21

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 22 '16 at 07:59

2

#!/usr/bin/expect -f
spawn ssh shw@hostname
expect -exact "shw@hostname's password: "
send -- "PASSWORD\r"
expect "$ "
interact

Expect is a tool to automate the process.

answered Sep 22 '16 at 07:59

SHW

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Do all these commands need superuser privileges? Because this code wasn't executing. – Mahathi Vempati Sep 22 '16 at 16:16

Taking password from a file while SSH ing into a machine

3 Answers3