SSH Credentials

^{Last Updated: 2025-09-18}

Purpose

This article describes how to set up SSH Credentials in the Portal.

Introduction

SSH Credentials enable secure connections to assets for authenticated scanning by configuring SSH-based authentication details, such as usernames, passwords, and strongly recommended private keys, within the Portal’s Credentials view. This feature supports privilege escalation through commands like sudo, doas, or custom options, ensuring flexible and secure access to systems, particularly Linux, Unix, or Solaris environments. By setting up SSH Credentials, security teams can perform authenticated scans to identify vulnerabilities with elevated permissions, enhancing the accuracy of security assessments. The integration with private key encryption and passphrase protection strengthens data security, making it essential for organizations aiming to maintain robust access control and compliance during vulnerability management processes.

Adding SSH Credentials

Requirements

Although username+password only configurations are allowed, a private SSH-key is STRONGLY recommended for this operation.

Windows

To check if SSH is installed:

1. Open a command terminal and run the ssh command.

C:\Users\JohnDoe>ssh

2. If SSH is installed, it will display some help text:

C:\Users\JohnDoe>ssh
usage: ssh [-46AaCfGgKkMNnqsTtVvXxYy] [-B bind_interface]
           [-b bind_address] [-c cipher_spec] [-D [bind_address:]port]
           [-E log_file] [-e escape_char] [-F configfile] [-I pkcs11]
           [-i identity_file] [-J [user@]host[:port]] [-L address]
           [-l login_name] [-m mac_spec] [-O ctl_cmd] [-o option] [-p port]
           [-Q query_option] [-R address] [-S ctl_path] [-W host:port]
           [-w local_tun[:remote_tun]] destination [command]

C:\Users\JohnDoe>

3. Create the key by running the ssh-keygen command:

C:\Users\JohnDoe>ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (C:\Users\JohnDoe/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in C:\Users\JohnDoe/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in C:\Users\JohnDoe/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:YSDOYF58kEbRekZhRrh2FxOIl/5cdPMgyrh/tAyOwFs azuread\johndoe@DESKTOP-AD5B8S3
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 4096]----+
|       o+X@o..   |
|     .+o+X*.o    |
|     .o.O=++ .   |
|      .*=B=      |
|      .+E=o.     |
|       .o+       |
|        . . .    |
|         . + .   |
|          ..+    |
+----[SHA256]-----+

C:\Users\JohnDoe>

Unix

To generate a SSH-key:

1. Run the ssh-keygen command:

$ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/user/.ssh/id_rsa): /home/user/test
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /home/user/test.
Your public key has been saved in /home/user/test.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:YSDOYF58kEbRekZhRrh2FxOIl/5cdPMgyrh/tAyOwFs user@client.example.com
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 4096]----+
| E+ . +.o        |
| o = * B .       |
|  o = + o        |
| o . o           |
|. + + o S        |
| o.o +   . . .   |
|ooo + . o o =    |
|.+o. + + =.= .   |
|o=. . o =+o.o    |
+----[SHA256]-----+
$

Adding Credentials

1. Log in to OUTSCAN. See the Logging in to the portal article on how to access the Portal.

2. In the Portal view, click the Account button in the upper right corner. Initials in the button may differ depending on the account name.
   

   

   
   

3. Select Credentials in the context menu.
   

   

   
   

4. Click the + Add credentials button to open the Add credentials form.
   

   

Setting up SSH Credentials

1. In the drop-down menu select SSH.

2. Enter a Role.

3. Enter a Username.

4. Enter a Password.

5. Select Substitute user command: sudo,  doas, sesu, dzdo, pfexec from the drop down menu, or provide a custom command on the line beneath.

6. Click the blue Upload Private Key button.
   

   

   
   

7. This opens a file upload window.

   1. Select a file. See Requirements section on how to create a private key in SSH.

   2. Click Open button lower right corner to upload.

8. Add the passphrase to the private key.
   

   

   
   

9. Click blue Add button.