PowerShell / PowerShell/Win32-OpenSSH

Document administrators_authorized_keys file permission requirements

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Description

"OpenSSH for Windows" version: 8.1.0.1
Server OperatingSystem: Windows 11 Pro, 21H2 build 22000.675


The documentation at docs.microsoft.com refers to the administrators_authorized_keys file being used by sshd to authenticate user accounts that are members of the administrator group.

However, creating this file with proper public keys is not enough as it will inherit read permissions that must be removed before the file is accepted by sshd.

Plenty of people have been struggling with this, see fx https://stackoverflow.com/a/64868357/936466

I suggest improving the documentation at docs.microsoft.com.

An even better alternative would be to drop the administrators_authorized_keys concept entirely (discussed in #1324).

refs #1701

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the linked OpenSSH server configuration documentation and compare its administrators_authorized_keys guidance with the linked Windows setup instructions. Confirm the required file permissions and update the documentation to explain them clearly, including the commands or steps needed for sshd to accept the file.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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