Home › Formats › .authorized_keysID
What is a .authorized_keys file?
An authorized_keys file lists the SSH public keys allowed to log in to an account, one key per line. Read by the OpenSSH server.
- Did you know
- Anyone whose private key matches a line in authorized_keys can log in without a password, which is why it is a prime target on a compromised server.
- Analyser handles .authorized_keys alongside related formats such as .PGP, .GPG, .SIG and more.
- In Analyser's format library, .authorized_keys sits in the Email & security category.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify and read more security and forensics files: OpenPGP messages/keys/signatures (.pgp/.gpg/.sig - armor type, packet walk, key algorithm and user ID, secret-key warning), YARA rules, Snort/Suricata IDS rules, STIX/OpenIOC threat intel, Fiddler captures (.saz), 1Password exports (.1pux), Apple Keychain, KeePass 1.x (.kdb), Microsoft keys (.pvk) and AFF/AFF4 forensic images.
- Depth of analysis
- .authorized_keys is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .authorized_keys file
- Drag a .authorized_keys file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.