Bug#794568: OpenSSH server does not recognize principals option in authorized_keys file

["Adam D. Barratt" <adam@adam-barratt.org.uk>]

Control: tags -1 + moreinfo

On 2015-08-04 15:10, Gordon Grubert wrote:
[...]
> Disabling these options and using an user-based configuration in
> $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys does not work. The authorized_keys file 
> looks
> like
>
> cert-authority,principals=MYPRINCIPAL ssh-ed25519 
> AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NT.....
>
> The ssh server says:
>
> Bad options in /root/.ssh/authorized_keys file, line 1:
> principals=MYPRINCIPAL ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NT
>
> The syntax of the file authorzied_keys seems to be invalid, but this
> should be the syntax specified in man 8 sshd (section AUTHORIZED_KEYS
> FILE FORMAT).

It's not - at least not precisely.

sshd(8) says that the option is

     principals="principals"

The quotes are part of the syntax. I can replicate the error you're 
seeing by specifying principals=FOO, but principals="foo" parses fine.

Regards,

Adam