vCenter ssh key based password less authentication configuration is not working and prompting for the password

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vCenter Server 7.0
• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

vCenter ssh key based password less authentication configuration is not working and promting for the password

Cause

If the vCenter appliance shell is configured as the default shell (/bin/appliancesh) for root, the key based authentication will still ask for the password.

ssh root@<vCenter_IP_Address> -v will show a successful authentication. However, it will still ask for the password

VMware vCenter Server 8.0.2.00400

Type: vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller

debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,password,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Offering public key: C:\\Users\\Administrator/.ssh/id_rsa RSA SHA256:/<id>
debug1: Server accepts key: C:\\Users\\Administrator/.ssh/id_rsa RSA SHA256:/<id>
debug1: Authentication succeeded (publickey).
Authenticated to #.#.#.# ([#.#.#.# ]:22).
debug1: channel 0: new [client-session]
debug1: Requesting [email protected]
debug1: Entering interactive session.
debug1: pledge: network
debug1: ENABLE_VIRTUAL_TERMINAL_INPUT is supported. Reading the VTSequence from console
debug1: ENABLE_VIRTUAL_TERMINAL_PROCESSING is supported. Console supports the ansi parsing
debug1: client_input_global_request: rtype [email protected] want_reply 0
debug1: Remote: /root/.ssh/authorized_keys:1: key options: agent-forwarding port-forwarding pty user-rc x11-forwarding
debug1: Remote: /root/.ssh/authorized_keys:1: key options: agent-forwarding port-forwarding pty user-rc x11-forwarding
Last login: dd/mm/yy from #.#.#.#
Password:

Resolution

User need to change the default shell to /bin/bash by running the below command for the key based authentication to login without password.

chsh -s /bin/bash root