The Tool Desk
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Confirm the hostname, inspect the presented key, compare its SHA256 fingerprint with GitLab’s authoritative fingerprint page or your instance administrator, then either restore the original key or remove only the stale entry. Once host verification succeeds, test account authentication separately; a later Permission denied (publickey) is a different problem.
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What “GitLab host key verification failed” means
SSH authenticates a server in two stages. First, it verifies the server’s identity with a host key. Only after that check passes does it try your GitLab user key, deploy key, or agent credentials. The client compares the key supplied by the GitLab hostname with entries in ~/.ssh/known_hosts and, on some systems, /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts.
The message therefore indicates one of three conditions:
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- No trusted entry exists. This is normal on a first connection, but the fingerprint must be checked before you accept it.
- The saved entry is stale. This commonly follows a server rebuild, migration, reinstallation, hostname reuse, load-balancer change, or a deliberate host-key rotation.
- The key really is different from the one you expected. That can indicate a DNS or VPN mistake, a misrouted load balancer, or a man-in-the-middle attack.
GitLab describes the warning as a security feature, not a software bug. Treat a changed key as an incident to investigate, not as a prompt to bypass.
Identify the exact GitLab host before changing anything
Many apparent GitLab errors are caused by connecting to the wrong name. The SSH host is the hostname only; it is not the repository path. For example, the test target is [email protected], not [email protected]/group/project.git.
Check the name and network path
- Copy the hostname from the repository’s SSH URL and check its spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
- Confirm that the server has the required VPN or private-network access. A public DNS answer and a private GitLab address can legitimately present different hosts.
- Check whether a recent DNS change, migration, proxy, or load-balancer update is sending the connection somewhere else.
- If your SSH configuration defines an alias, jump host, or proxy, inspect the effective settings rather than assuming the alias means what it appears to mean. Run
ssh -G gitlab.example.comto see the resolved hostname, port, proxy, and identity settings.
Do not remove a known-hosts entry until you know the command is reaching the intended GitLab instance.
Inspect the offered key without trusting it automatically
Use verbose SSH output to see which host is contacted and which key is offered:
ssh -Tvvv [email protected]Replace the example hostname with your real GitLab hostname. In the diagnostic output, record the host-key algorithm and the SHA256 fingerprint. The command may stop at an authenticity prompt or at host-key verification; that is expected during diagnosis. The important point is to record the fingerprint, not to answer “yes” reflexively.
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Compare the fingerprint with an authoritative source
- GitLab.com: compare the fingerprint with GitLab’s published SSH host-key fingerprint page.
- Self-Managed or Dedicated: use the instance’s
/help/instance_configuration#ssh-host-keys-fingerprintspage, or obtain the fingerprint from the GitLab administrator through a channel independent of the failing SSH connection. - Private deployment behind a load balancer: verify every legitimate backend key if the balancer can send clients to more than one SSH endpoint. A single hostname should not unpredictably alternate between unrelated keys.
A key obtained only from the same untrusted network path is not independent verification. For a first connection, have an administrator provide the fingerprint or publish it through a trusted administrative channel before accepting the prompt.
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| Situation | Safest action | What must be verified | Client impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| First connection to an unchanged host | Accept the key only at the authenticity prompt after fingerprint comparison. | Algorithm and SHA256 fingerprint match GitLab’s published or administrator-confirmed value. | Only the connecting client learns the key. |
| Server rebuilt, but original host keys are available | Restore the original /etc/ssh/ssh_host_* keys on the replacement server. |
Files came from the original server and retain correct ownership and permissions. | Existing clients continue to trust the host without edits. |
| Host key intentionally rotated or original keys are lost | Verify the new fingerprint, then remove the old entry with ssh-keygen -R. |
New fingerprint is confirmed by the GitLab administrator or authoritative instance page. | Each client must learn the new key. |
| Unexpected change with no approved maintenance | Stop and investigate DNS, VPN, routing, load-balancer, and possible interception. | Do not accept the replacement key until the cause is explained. | Connection remains blocked, by design. |
| Ephemeral CI runners | Provision a vetted known-hosts file as a protected file-type CI/CD variable. | Key was collected from a trusted network and reviewed independently. | Every job receives the same checked record. |
Repair an individual server connection
Case 1: the host is new and the fingerprint matches
- Run
ssh -Tvvv [email protected]. - When SSH displays the authenticity question, compare the displayed fingerprint with the authoritative value first.
- Type
yesonly after the values match. SSH then writes the key to the user’s known-hosts file. - Run
ssh -T [email protected]again. GitLab should return its normal welcome response for the account associated with your key.
If the key does not match, answer “no” and investigate. A first connection is not permission to trust an unverified key.
Case 2: the GitLab server was rebuilt and the old identity can be restored
Preserving the old host identity is the least disruptive option after a legitimate rebuild. GitLab Support recommends copying the original SSH host keys to the replacement server. Restore the complete set of relevant /etc/ssh/ssh_host_* files, keep the original ownership and restrictive permissions, and restart the SSH daemon. On systems managed by systemd, the service is commonly restarted with:
sudo systemctl restart sshdUse the service name configured by your operating system if it differs. Verify locally that the daemon starts successfully before testing from a client. Do not copy a private host key through an untrusted channel or leave it readable by ordinary users.
Once the replacement server presents the original key, clients should stop reporting a change without any known-hosts edits. If some clients still fail, check whether they use a different hostname, port, proxy, or system-wide known-hosts file.
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Case 3: the host key legitimately changed
When a rotation is approved, or the old private host keys are irretrievably lost, remove only the entry for the affected hostname:
ssh-keygen -R gitlab.example.comUse the exact hostname shown in the error. If SSH uses a nonstandard port, remove the bracketed host-and-port form that appears in the warning, such as [gitlab.example.com]:2222. The command edits the appropriate known-hosts records, including hashed hostnames, without requiring you to delete unrelated entries.
- Run
ssh-keygen -Rfor the stale hostname. - Reconnect with
ssh -T [email protected]. - Compare the new fingerprint with GitLab’s published value or an administrator-confirmed value.
- Accept the key only when it matches.
- Run the connection test once more and then retry the Git operation.
If verification fails again immediately, do not repeat the removal. Recheck DNS, VPN routing, load-balancer backends, and the actual host used by SSH.
Understand the two errors that are often confused
REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED
This is a host-identity failure. SSH has a stored key for the name, but the server offered a different one. It occurs before GitLab can evaluate your account key. Investigate the change and use the rotation procedure only after the replacement fingerprint is verified.
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This normally means the name has no trusted entry on this client. It is not proof that the server is malicious, but it is also not proof that it is safe. Verify the fingerprint, then accept the key once.
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Permission denied (publickey)
This occurs after host verification succeeds and concerns user authentication. Check that:
- The intended public key is added to the correct GitLab account, project, or deploy-key configuration.
- The matching private key is selected by SSH and is readable only by the intended local user.
- The key is loaded in
ssh-agentwhen your workflow depends on an agent. - Your SSH configuration is not selecting a different identity or username.
Do not keep changing known_hosts to fix a public-key authentication error; the two records serve different purposes.
Use a safe known-hosts record in GitLab CI/CD
CI jobs are often short-lived, so a runner may have no existing known_hosts file. The secure pattern is to collect the destination key before the job runs, from a trusted network, and review it independently. For a private server or GitLab instance, an administrator can run ssh-keyscan from the server’s trusted network and validate the returned key against the server’s actual host key.
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Provision the file-type variable
- Collect the destination host key from a trusted network. Include the exact hostname and port used by the job.
- Review the algorithm and SHA256 fingerprint independently with the server administrator or authoritative GitLab fingerprint page.
- Create a protected, file-type CI/CD variable named
SSH_KNOWN_HOSTSand paste in the vetted known-hosts output. - In the job’s
before_script, copy the variable to the SSH directory and set readable file permissions:
before_script:
- cp "$SSH_KNOWN_HOSTS" ~/.ssh/known_hosts
- chmod 644 ~/.ssh/known_hostsEnsure the job image has an ~/.ssh directory and that the variable is available to the intended protected branches or environments. Keep the variable limited to the host entries the job actually needs. If the server rotates its key, update the variable through the same independent verification process; do not add a command that silently accepts whatever key appears during the job.
Self-Managed and Helm-specific checks
Use the instance fingerprint page
Self-Managed and Dedicated instances expose SSH host-key fingerprints through /help/instance_configuration#ssh-host-keys-fingerprints when the instance can read its host keys. Compare the algorithm and SHA256 value shown there with the client’s verbose SSH output. If the page is unavailable, an administrator must inspect the host directly and communicate the expected fingerprint through a trusted channel.
When the help page says host keys are unavailable
Inspect /etc/ssh on the GitLab host and confirm that the SSH host-key files exist and are readable by the component that must report them. Missing files, incorrect permissions, or a deployment that keeps keys outside the expected path can prevent the fingerprint page from reporting values. Do not generate replacement keys merely to make the page display a value; first determine whether the original identity can be restored.
Helm chart deployments
For a Helm deployment, the webservice must be able to read the SSH host keys. Set this value in values.yaml:
webservice:
sshHostKeys:
mount: trueApply the chart change through your normal release process, then verify that the webservice can read the mounted keys and that the fingerprint page reports the expected values. The setting makes the keys available to the webservice; it does not by itself validate a changed key or repair clients that already stored an old fingerprint.
Troubleshoot persistent verification failures
The fingerprint is correct, but SSH still rejects the host
- Check for an entry under a different spelling, alias, or port. SSH treats
gitlab.example.comand[gitlab.example.com]:2222as different known-hosts names. - Check both the user’s file and any system-wide known-hosts file.
- Review
ssh -G gitlab.example.comfor an unexpected proxy, jump host, port, or hostname. - Confirm that a load balancer is not sending different backends with unrelated host keys.
- Verify that the connection is not being redirected by stale DNS or a VPN split-horizon configuration.
The key changes on every connection
Stop accepting keys and investigate the endpoint. Repeated changes usually indicate inconsistent backends, a proxy or interception problem, or a name that resolves to more than one independently configured SSH service. A stable GitLab hostname should present a predictable, administrator-managed identity.
The client cannot write known_hosts
Check that the home directory and ~/.ssh exist and are writable by the connecting user. In automated jobs, create the directory before copying the vetted file and ensure the variable is present. A read-only home directory is a local file-permission problem, not evidence that the remote fingerprint is wrong.
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The host verifies, but Git operations still fail
Run ssh -T [email protected] and read the resulting message. If it reports public-key denial, fix the account key, deploy key, agent, username, or local private-key permissions. If it welcomes the expected account, inspect the repository URL, project permissions, and the key selected for that command.
Prevent the problem after future migrations
- Preserve and back up SSH host keys as part of the GitLab server migration plan, with access controls equivalent to other server private keys.
- Publish the expected fingerprints through the GitLab instance help page or an administrator-controlled documentation channel.
- Document every hostname, port, proxy, and load-balancer path used by humans and CI runners.
- For intentional rotations, announce the old and new fingerprints and update managed clients and CI/CD variables in a coordinated change.
- Keep CI known-hosts data as reviewed configuration, not as output generated during an untrusted job.
The shortest safe fix is therefore conditional: restore the old host key when the server was rebuilt and the identity should remain the same; otherwise verify the new fingerprint, remove only the stale record, and allow SSH to save the replacement. Any unexplained change should remain blocked until its cause is resolved.
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