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How to Fix Permission Denied (publickey) Error in SSH Connections

Read Time: 4 min Updated: 2026-07-27

Quick Diagnostics

The Permission denied (publickey) error when trying to connect to a remote server via SSH occurs because the SSH daemon (sshd) on the remote server rejects the private key presented by your client. This is usually due to file permissions being too permissive, which invalidates the security of the connection and forces the server to discard the attempt for protection.

🚀 Cómo solucionar el error paso a paso

Paso 1: Corregir los permisos de tu clave privada en el cliente

The private key must never be readable by other users of the local machine. Adjust the permissions of the .pem or id_rsa file:

BASH 
# Cambiar permisos para que solo el propietario pueda leer el archivo
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Paso 2: Ajustar los permisos del directorio .ssh y autorizaciones en el servidor

Access the server console (through TTY or the hosting provider's console) and run the following fixes on your home directory:

BASH 
# Asegurar el directorio de configuración de SSH
chmod 700 ~/.ssh

# Asegurar el archivo que almacena las claves autorizadas
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

# Restablecer la propiedad de los archivos a tu usuario actual
chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.ssh

Paso 3: Comprobar la directiva de autenticación en el servidor

If the error persists, edit the SSH service configuration file on the server /etc/ssh/sshd_config and verify that public key authentication is enabled:

PLAINTEXT 
PubkeyAuthentication yes
AuthorizedKeysFile .ssh/authorized_keys

Restart the service to apply the changes:

BASH 
sudo systemctl restart sshd

🛡️ Consejo de Prevención

Recommended security practices:

  • Avoid sharing your private key through insecure means or using lax permissions on the local host. Always maintain the principle of least privilege in your SSH configuration. Setting the StrictModes yes directive on the server forces SSHD to proactively reject connections if the home directory or authorized file permissions are insecure, preventing accidental intrusions due to filesystem oversights.

Prevention Advice

Recommended security practices: