SSH (Secure Shell) is a cryptographic network protocol used for:

  • Secure remote login
  • Command execution,
  • Other secure network services over insecure networks

SSH servers use public key cryptography for authentication and encryption, making them critical components in cryptographic infrastructure management.

The SSH Scanner plugin:

  1. Scans network hosts and IP ranges to identify SSH servers 
  2. Perform SSH protocol handshakes to retrieve the following:
    • SSH host public keys
    • OpenSSH certificates
    • X.509 certificates
    • SSH server information including the server vendor, server version, supported SSH protocol versions, and negotiated cryptographic algorithms. 

Note: The plugin does not require SSH authentication. It only performs initial protocol handshakes to discover publicly available information. Each scan processes all specified hosts and ports completely.