VaultOne: Configure Passwordless Direct Access to Linux Devices Using Terminal

VaultOne's Direct Access feature allows you to connect to machines outside of your web browser using methods like RDP and SSH.

This article shows you how to configure and access Linux devices using your terminal or command prompt without requiring a password for authentication. Direct Access uses SSH keys to securely connect to the machine.

Considerations:

• For security reasons, you must re-enter your credentials at least every 7 days.

Generating the Key Pair

This example uses the PuTTYgen application to generate the key pair and export it for VaultOne. You can also use built-in terminal commands on Linux or Unix devices to generate the key pair.

To generate the key pair in PuTTYgen:

1. Open the PuTTYgen application.
2. Click Generate to create a new key. This key will be used by the platform to verify your authentication.
3. Once the key is generated, copy the full text from the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file field.

To save the SSH key in VaultOne:

Next, add the public key you generated to your VaultOne user profile.

1. Log in to your VaultOne platform.
2. In the upper-right corner, click your username > My settings.
3. Click the SSH Access tab.
4. Paste the public key you copied from PuTTYgen into the provided field.
5. Click Save.

To save the private key for your terminal:

1. Return to PuTTYgen.
2. In the Conversions menu, select Export OpenSSH key. This will convert the key to a format compatible with OpenSSH, which is used by most terminals.
3. Save the private key file in a secure location on your computer.
4. Close PuTTYgen.

Accessing the Device from Your Terminal

Finally, use the Direct Access command from VaultOne along with your private key to connect to a device.

1. Return to VaultOne.
2. In the main menu, click Servers.
3. Find the Linux device you want to access. Click Actions > Connect.
4. Click Direct Access to get the SSH code for that device.
5. Open your terminal or command prompt.
6. Enter the following command, replacing the bracketed information with your own details: ssh [user]#[ssh code from VaultOne] -i [directory of private key] For example: ssh your_user#host_id.vaultone.com:2222 -i /path/to/your/private_key_file