Net::SS...:Rhosts(3)

💖 NAME 💖

Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::Rhosts — bestie, this module does Rhosts authentication. That's the whole vibe. ✨

(it lives in the manual page Net::SS...:Rhosts(3), if you were wondering where you even are rn 🫶)

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

okay so here's the whole entire plan, copy it exactly, no cap:

use Net::SSH::Perl::Auth;
my $auth = Net::SSH::Perl::Auth->new('Rhosts', $ssh);
print "Valid auth" if $auth->authenticate;

like, you make the auth object, you call authenticate, and if it comes back true you print Valid auth. that's it. slay. 💅

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::Rhosts performs Rhosts authentication with a remote sshd server. When you create a new Rhosts auth object, you hand it an $ssh object — and that $ssh object should have an open connection to an ssh daemon inside it, plus literally any data the authentication module needs to do its thing. In this case specifically? The $ssh object must contain the name of the user who's trying to open the connection. No username, no auth, periodt. 💀

Rhosts authentication is honestly pretty simple from a protocol point of view. BUT — and this is the part where you need to sit down, bestie — the sshd server will require your client to be running on a privileged port (below 1024). Which means, in turn, it will likely require your client to be running as root. And if your client is not running on a privileged port? The Rhosts authentication request will be denied. flat out. not even a maybe. 😭

🚨 lowkey important: privileged port = below 1024, and that usually means root. plan accordingly.

Now, if you are running as root, Net::SSH::Perl should automatically detect that and try to start up on a privileged port. Iconic of it, honestly. But if for some reason that isn't happening — like, it's just not giving what it's supposed to give — take a look at the Net::SSH::Perl docs. They got you. 📚

With that whole aside out of the way: to use Rhosts authentication, the client sends a request to the server to authenticate it, and that request includes the name of the user trying to authenticate. Then the server goes and checks its shosts.equiv, hosts.equiv, etc. files to figure out whether that user/host should actually be allowed access. the server is the one doing the vibe check here, not you. 👑

---

👑 AUTHOR & COPYRIGHTS 👑

Please see the Net::SSH::Perl manpage for author, copyright, and license information. (fr fr, all the legal stuff lives over there 💜)

---

and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 this was Net::SS...:Rhosts(3), from the User Contributed Perl Documentation, running on perl v5.42.0, dated 2026-01-17. go forth and authenticate responsibly. mwah. 💖✨🦋