nerdexam
CompTIA

LX0-104 · Question #682

What is a purpose of an SSH host key?

The correct answer is B. It provides the server's identity information to connecting SSH clients.. An SSH host key serves to uniquely identify the SSH server to connecting clients, preventing man-in-the-middle attacks. When a client connects for the first time, the host key is stored and used for future verification of the server's identity.

Security

Question

What is a purpose of an SSH host key?

Options

  • AIt must be sent by any SSH client in addition to a user key in order to identify the client's host.
  • BIt provides the server's identity information to connecting SSH clients.
  • CIt is the root key by which all user SSH keys must be signed.
  • DIt authenticates any user that logs into a remote machine from the key's host.
  • EIt is used by system services like cron, syslog or a backup job to automatically connect to

How the community answered

(40 responses)
  • B
    88% (35)
  • C
    5% (2)
  • D
    5% (2)
  • E
    3% (1)

Why each option

An SSH host key serves to uniquely identify the SSH server to connecting clients, preventing man-in-the-middle attacks. When a client connects for the first time, the host key is stored and used for future verification of the server's identity.

AIt must be sent by any SSH client in addition to a user key in order to identify the client's host.

Host keys are presented by the *server* to identify itself to the client, not sent by the client to identify the client's host.

BIt provides the server's identity information to connecting SSH clients.Correct

An SSH host key is a cryptographic key that uniquely identifies the SSH server to clients. When an SSH client connects to a server, the server presents its host key, allowing the client to verify the server's authenticity and detect potential man-in-the-middle attacks.

CIt is the root key by which all user SSH keys must be signed.

SSH host keys are for server identification and are distinct from user keys; they are not used to sign user keys.

DIt authenticates any user that logs into a remote machine from the key's host.

SSH host keys authenticate the *server*, not the user. User authentication is typically handled by user-specific keys or passwords.

EIt is used by system services like cron, syslog or a backup job to automatically connect to

While system services might use SSH, they typically use *user* SSH keys for authentication, not host keys, which are for server identification.

Concept tested: SSH host key purpose

Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/sshd_config.5.html

Topics

#SSH#host key#server authentication

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Sign up to join the discussion
Full LX0-104 Practice