After restoring the /nsconfig and all subfolders from a backup, the sshd daemon does not run on the Citrix ADC appliance. The daemon displays the "bad permissions: ignore key: filename WARNING: UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE!" error message when you attempt to start it manually from the serial console by running the following command:
/usr/sbin/sshd –f /etc/sshd_config

Verify the file permission and ownership of the following private key files:

• ssh_host_dsa_key

• ssh_host_rsa_key

If the files have read permission for all, then run the following commands to change the permission and ownership of the files:

chmod 600 <filename>
chown root:wheel <filename>
ls -l

-rw------- 1 root wheel 668 Mar 12 2007 ssh_host_dsa_key
-rw------- 1 root wheel 883 Mar 12 2007 ssh_host_rsa_key

After changing the permission and ownership, you can then start sshd daemon manually by running the command mentioned earlier or restarting the appliance.

Problem Cause

The private key files have read permission for all.