DWShells: SSH Connection Troubleshooting

🛠️ DWShells: SSH Connection Troubleshooting

This page helps you resolve common SSH connection issues when connecting to your DWShell instance.

Contents

1. Permission Denied (publickey)
2. Permission Denied (password)
3. Connection Timed Out
4. Host Key Verification Failed
5. SSH Agent / Key Issues
6. Networking & Firewalls
7. Further Help

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❌ Permission Denied (publickey)

This error indicates SSH attempted public key authentication but the server did not accept your key.

Possible Causes & Fixes

• Your public key was not properly installed in your ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server.

 → Ask staff to verify the key is exactly the same as the one you sent (no extra spaces/newlines).  

• File or directory permissions are too open. SSH demands strict permissions. On the server:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

• You’re using a different key than expected (e.g. your private key is not the one matching the public key uploaded).

 → Specify the correct key explicitly:

ssh -i /path/to/your_private_key your_username@dwshells.darkworld.network

• SSH agent is not forwarding or the key is not loaded into the agent.

 → Use ssh-add /path/to/private_key or check ssh-agent status.

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🔐 Permission Denied (password)

This error means SSH fell back to password authentication, but you entered an incorrect password or password auth is disabled.

• Confirm your password is correct (watch out for typos, keyboard layout, etc.).
• Some servers disable password authentication if key auth is enforced—if that’s the case, you *must* use SSH keys.
• If your password was recently changed or reset, ensure you're using the updated one.

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⏱️ Connection Timed Out

SSH cannot reach the server at all. Common causes:

• The server is offline or experiencing issues.
• Network connectivity issues on your end (ISP, firewall, NAT).
• Port 22 is blocked by local firewall or ISP.
• DNS resolution failure (e.g. dwshells.darkworld.network not resolving).
• Intermediate network equipment (router, firewall) blocking or filtering SSH traffic.

Checks & fixes:

1. Try **ping** or **traceroute**:

ping dwshells.darkworld.network
traceroute dwshells.darkworld.network

1. Try connecting from another network (e.g. mobile hotspot) to isolate network issues.
2. If you have server status pages or IRC status channels, check if DWShells is down.
3. Contact staff to verify the SSH service is up and port 22 is listening.

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🔏 Host Key Verification Failed

This happens when the server’s SSH host key changed, or your local known_hosts file has a conflicting entry.

• The prompt usually says: WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!
• If you trust that the server changed keys (e.g. server maintenance), remove the old key entry:

ssh-keygen -R dwshells.darkworld.network

Then try connecting again, and accept the new host key fingerprint.

• If you suspect a malicious man-in-the-middle attack, do not accept blindly—verify with staff.

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🧰 SSH Agent / Key Issues

• Ensure your private key file permissions are correct (e.g. chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519).
• If using an SSH agent:

ssh-add -l   # lists loaded keys
ssh-add /path/to/key  # add if missing

• For PuTTY users: ensure you’re loading the correct .ppk file in

 Connection → SSH → Auth → Private key file.

• If using Pageant (PuTTY’s SSH agent), verify your key is loaded.

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🌐 Networking & Firewalls

• Check whether your local firewall (Windows Defender Firewall, iptables, etc.) is blocking outgoing SSH (port 22).
• In corporate or campus networks, SSH may be blocked—ask network admins or try a different network.
• VPNs can sometimes interfere with SSH routing—disable or bypass temporarily.
• NAT / Port forwarding issues: usually not relevant for a client, but if you're behind double NAT or strict filtering, it might affect things.

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📞 Further Help

If you’re still unable to connect, include the following details when requesting assistance:

• Full error message you received (copy/paste).
• What method you used (password, key auth, PuTTY, OpenSSH, etc.).
• What OS / client you are using.
• Actions you already tried (e.g. ssh -v, permissions checked, key regenerated).
• Approximate time of attempt (in case staff can correlate server logs).

Also, you may link this page from your existing FAQ pages:

• DWShells/FAQ/Linux:Unix
• General FAQ
• DWShells:SSH_Connection_Guide
• DWShells:SSH_Key_Authentication
• DWShells:SSH_Connection_Troubleshooting
• DWShells/FAQ/Linux:Unix

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Return to: DWShells: SSH Connection Guide | DWShells: SSH Key Authentication