(C#) SFTP Authentication using X.509 Certificates

See more SFTP Examples

Demonstrates how to authenticate with an SSH/SFTP server using an certificate's private key.

Note: See X.509v3 Certificates for SSH Authentication for more information.

Chilkat .NET Downloads Chilkat .NET Framework Chilkat for .NET Core

// This example assumes the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
// See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

Chilkat.SFtp sftp = new Chilkat.SFtp();

string hostname = "sftp.example.com";
int port = 22;
bool success = sftp.Connect(hostname,port);
if (success != true) {
    Debug.WriteLine(sftp.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

// Load the cert + private key from a .pfx.
// Note: Chilkat provides methods for loading certs and private keys from many sources, including smart cards and USB tokens (HSM's)
Chilkat.Cert cert = new Chilkat.Cert();
success = cert.LoadPfxFile("qa_data/pfx/example.pfx","pfx_password");
if (success != true) {
    Debug.WriteLine(cert.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

// Get the cert's private key (as PEM) to be used for SSH authentication.
// (The public key is installed on the server.)
string privKeyPem = cert.GetPrivateKeyPem();
if (cert.LastMethodSuccess == false) {
    Debug.WriteLine(cert.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

Chilkat.SshKey key = new Chilkat.SshKey();

// Load a private key from a PEM string:
success = key.FromOpenSshPrivateKey(privKeyPem);
if (success != true) {
    Debug.WriteLine(key.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

// Authenticate with the SSH server.
success = sftp.AuthenticatePk("myLogin",key);
if (success != true) {
    Debug.WriteLine(sftp.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

Debug.WriteLine("Public-Key Authentication Successful!");