Cybersecurity

I have a query on ssh.

[Local_host] /home/user1/ # ssh remote_host

When the fingerprint created and saved in /home/user1/.ssh/known_hosts file, is the fingerprint the public key of remote_host?

The fingerprint only identifies the remote host as the host you want to connect to. So that the next time you connect, you wouldn't get this message to save the fingerprint into the known_hosts file. So it's just a way to verify that the host you remotely connect to is in fact the host you want to connect to.

The private and public key is something else. They are just easier ways to login to a remote host. Using private and public keys would make you able to login without a username and password.

Thank you for the reply.

I think the fingerprint is also the public key of the remote server. It is saved under /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub on remote server.