Setting up ssh and rsh connection using the pwdutil.pl utility

Last published : Sep 11, 2026
The password utility, pwdutil.pl, is bundled under the scripts directory. The users can run the utility in their script to set up the ssh and rsh connection automatically.
\# ./pwdutil.pl -h
Usage:

Command syntax with simple format:

    pwdutil.pl check|configure|unconfigure ssh|rsh <hostname|IP addr>
                [<user>] [<password>] [<port>]

Command syntax with advanced format:

    pwdutil.pl [--action|-a 'check|configure|unconfigure']
               [--type|-t 'ssh|rsh']
               [--user|-u  '<user>']
               [--password|-p '<password>']
               [--port|-P '<port>']
               [--hostfile|-f '<hostfile>']
               [--keyfile|-k '<keyfile>']
               [-debug|-d]
               <host_URI>

    pwdutil.pl -h | -?

Table: Options with pwdutil.pl utility

Option Usage
--action\|-a 'check\|configure\|unconfigure' Specifies action type, default is
'check'.
--type\|-t 'ssh\|rsh' Specifies connection type, default
is 'ssh'.
--user\|-u '' Specifies user id, default is the
local user id.
--password\|-p '' Specifies user password, default is
the user id.
--port\|-P '' Specifies port number for ssh connection, default is 22
--keyfile\|-k '' Specifies the private key file.
--hostfile\|-f '' Specifies the file which list the hosts.
-debug Prints debug information.
-h\|-? Prints help messages.
Can be in the following formats\:
:@
:@:
You can check, configure, and unconfigure ssh or rsh using the pwdutil.plutility. For example:
  • To check ssh connection for only one host:
    pwdutil.pl check ssh hostname
    -  To configure ssh for only one host:
    pwdutil.pl configure ssh hostname user password
  • To unconfigure rsh for only one host: pwdutil.pl unconfigure rsh hostname
    • To configure ssh for multiple hosts with same user ID and password: pwdutil.pl -a configure -t ssh -u user -p password hostname1 hostname2 hostname3
  • To configure ssh or rsh for different hosts with different user ID and password: pwdutil.pl -a configure -t ssh user1:password1@hostname1 user2:password2@hostname2
    • To check or configure ssh or rsh for multiple hosts with one configuration file: pwdutil.pl -a configure -t ssh --hostfile /tmp/sshrsh_hostfile
  • To keep the host configuration file secret, you can use the 3rd party utility to encrypt and decrypt the host file with password.
For example:
\### run openssl to encrypt the host file in base64 format
\# openssl aes-256-cbc -a -salt -in /hostfile -out /hostfile.enc
enter aes-256-cbc encryption password: \<password\>
Verifying - enter aes-256-cbc encryption password: \<password\>

\### remove the original plain text file
\# rm /hostfile

\### run openssl to decrypt the encrypted host file
\# pwdutil.pl -a configure -t ssh `openssl aes-256-cbc -d -a
-in /hostfile.enc`
enter aes-256-cbc decryption password: \<password\>

```txt

-  To use the ssh authentication keys which are not under the default $``HOME/.ssh``directory, you can use --keyfile option to specify the ssh keys. For example:```txt

### create a directory to host the key pairs

## mkdir /keystore

### generate private and public key pair under the directory

## ssh-keygen -t rsa -f /keystore/id_rsa

### setup ssh connection with the new generated key pair under

the directory:

## pwdutil.pl -a configure -t ssh --keyfile /keystore/id_rsa

user:password@hostname

```txt
You can see the contents of the configuration file by using the following command:```bash

\# cat /tmp/sshrsh_hostfile
user1:password1@hostname1
user2:password2@hostname2
user3:password3@hostname3
user4:password4@hostname4

\# all default: check ssh connection with local user
hostname5
The following exit values are returned:

0     Successful completion.
1     Command syntax error.
2     Ssh or rsh binaries do not exist.
3     Ssh or rsh service is down on the remote machine.
4     Ssh or rsh command execution is denied due to password is required.
5     Invalid password is provided.
255   Other unknown error.