Bug#354939: openssh-client: Customizable ssh password prompt

["R.Ramkumar" <ramk@cse.iitm.ernet.in>]

Package: openssh-client
Version: 1:4.2p1-5
Severity: wishlist

When ssh is used with an GUI program like ssh-askpass for password
information, it really leaves the user clueless (especially with
something like ssh-askpass-fullscreen which grabs the keyboard and
the screen) with just a prompt "Password" and a text entry :)
Another use case: take sshfs, and asking it to reconnect every time
the connection is lost, makes it impossible to use any other means
but trusted keys (not possible many a time) or ssh-askpass. Due to
network trouble, the connection gets lost and you suddenly get a
full screen asking for "Password"... well, what was that?! :)

I could think of two solutions:

1. Offer to provide more information especially when using a
   password request program (the command line/user@host to which it
   is connecting?)

2. Give a -o PasswordPrompt which the parent program can use.

An even better solution would be to allow a PasswordPrompt with %
escapes to fill in with the user@host, options etc. That way, I can
use a single command line with many connections to many places.

Regards,
Ramkumar.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: testing/unstable
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (101, 'testing')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Shell:  /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Kernel: Linux 2.6.15-archck2
Locale: LANG=en_IN, LC_CTYPE=en_IN (charmap=UTF-8)

Versions of packages openssh-client depends on:
ii  adduser       3.80                       Add and remove users and groups
ii  debconf [debc 1.4.70                     Debian configuration management sy
ii  dpkg          1.13.13                    package maintenance system for Deb
ii  libc6         2.3.5-13                   GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii  libcomerr2    1.38+1.39-WIP-2005.12.31-1 common error description library
ii  libedit2      2.9.cvs.20050518-2.2       BSD editline and history libraries
ii  libkrb53      1.4.3-5                    MIT Kerberos runtime libraries
ii  libncurses5   5.5-1                      Shared libraries for terminal hand
ii  libselinux1   1.28-4                     SELinux shared libraries
ii  libssl0.9.8   0.9.8a-7                   SSL shared libraries
ii  zlib1g        1:1.2.3-9                  compression library - runtime

openssh-client recommends no packages.

-- no debconf information

-- 
WARN_(accel)("msg null; should hang here to be win compatible\n");
                                   -- WINE source code