Rasp Pi Generates Weak SSH Keys
The Pi's popular Raspbian OS pursues secrecy without entropy.
The Debian-based Raspbian Linux system, which runs on the tiny and popular Raspberry Pi single-board computer systems, appears to have a problem generating potentially weak SSH keys. Because the Rasp Pi doesn't come with a monitor, many Pi owners use SSH as a primary means of communicating with the system. And although a majority of the consumer-end Pis are sitting behind firewalls on little home networks (uh, how safe are those little home firewalls?), Internet-connected Raspberry Pis have started to appear as web servers, weather stations, remote photography experiments, and security cameras.
The Register quotes a Rasp Pi message board note, “Many Linux distributions stockpile random seed data during installation, and then use that to prime the pool during first boot-up, but Raspbian doesn't work that way – it starts up ready to go straight from the SD card, and thus suffers from low entropy.”
On current Raspbian systems, hardware random number generation isn't enabled by default. The system uses the random data in the /dev/urandom pool to generate a host key, but the pool doesn't have enough entropy at the early stage where the keys are created.
The Raspbian developers say they will fix the issue in the next release. In the meantime, users who are concerned about SSH security should use the Pi's onboard hardware random number generator to see the /dev/urandom file and regenerate SSH host keys.
Issue 269/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
Kubuntu Focus Announces XE Gen 2 Linux Laptop
Another Kubuntu-based laptop has arrived to be your next ultra-portable powerhouse with a Linux heart.
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
-
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released with New Hardware Support
Find out what's new in the most recent release from Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel team.