"Private key incorrect for user" Error

Can you login with that private key using a “regular” SSH client? What about from the same IP address?

I ask about the IP address because there have been several instances where people couldn’t. eg.

https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/private-key-incorrect-for-solution?replies=2

Question 1: Why are we posting our private key, not public?

Question 2: Which user should the ssh key pair be created as?

We have not install WordPress from the Debian package repository.

1. The private key is what you login with. The way it works is you sign a “session identifier” with your private key. The server verifies this signature with the public key it has on file. ie. the public key blob you put in the .ssh/authorized_keys file.

This plugin requires the private key because it’s acting as a client and because it needs to be able to login.

2. A user that can write to the WordPress files / directory? Could be the user that owns the files or a user in the same group as the owner, assuming the permissions are set appropriately.

We have not install WordPress from the Debian package repository.

What does that have to do with anything?

I am getting this same error. If I only use my ssh username/password it tells me the password is wrong. If I use the key I generated (without a pass phrase) it tells me the private key is wrong.

Private key generated via:
ssh-keygen (named wpkey, no passphrase)

wpkey and wpkey.pub created. I add wpkey.pub to .ssh/authorized_keys

Copy/paste contents of wpkey – error.
Upload wpkey – error

I can access the server via SSH (no key reqd).
I can use SFTP with the username/password. (connects to port 22).

Any advice?

Sorry for the delay – I was out of town.

Anyway…

Can you create a sample key that you’d be willing to post?

Also, if you could get me the logs. You can enable logging by find the following in class-wp-filesystem-ssh2.php and uncommenting it out:

//define(‘NET_SFTP_LOGGING’, NET_SFTP_LOG_REALTIME);

Thanks!

Actually if you could replace that with this:

define(‘NET_SSH2_LOGGING’, NET_SSH2_LOG_REALTIME);

NET_SFTP_LOGGING is more for SFTP connection issues. Auth is done at the SSH layer – not the SFTP layer.

Thanks!

I’m having the same issue with the server we’re on
I’ve enabled the logging
I’ve also asked the server administrator to create a secondary set of keys without the passphrase

Am able to connect via SFTP in filezilla with another set of keys
can you please advise?

So if you could find this:

//define(‘NET_SFTP_LOGGING’, NET_SFTP_LOG_REALTIME);

And replace it with this:

define(‘NET_SSH2_LOGGING’, NET_SSH2_LOG_REALTIME);

That’d be swell.

Also,

Am able to connect via SFTP in filezilla with another set of keys

What about with the set of keys that you’re trying to use with this addon?