Skip to content

SSH Protocol Support

ZestSSH implements the SSH-2 protocol for secure remote connections. This page documents the protocol details and supported features.

ZestSSH supports SSH-2 (RFC 4253 and related RFCs). SSH-1 is not supported due to known security vulnerabilities.

FeatureStatus
Password authenticationSupported
Public key authenticationSupported
Keyboard-interactive authenticationSupported
FIDO2 / security key authenticationSupported
OpenSSH certificate authenticationSupported
SSH agent forwardingSupported
Local port forwardingSupported (Pro)
Remote port forwardingSupported (Pro)
Dynamic port forwarding (SOCKS5)Supported (Pro)
SFTP subsystemSupported
Terminal emulation (xterm-256color)Supported
Keep-alive packetsSupported
Host key verification and cachingSupported
Jump host / ProxyJumpSupported (Pro)

ZestSSH verifies and caches server host keys. Supported host key types:

  • ssh-ed25519
  • ecdsa-sha2-nistp256
  • ecdsa-sha2-nistp384
  • ecdsa-sha2-nistp521
  • rsa-sha2-512
  • rsa-sha2-256
  • ssh-rsa (legacy, for older servers)

For the complete list of ciphers, key exchange algorithms, and MAC algorithms, see Ciphers & Algorithms.