ssh shell/ftp access for PocketBook Pro readers

[rkomar]

That's great! I made a link to your post with the attached zipfile in the first one in this thread, to make it easier for anybody to find. To be honest, my enthusiasm for providing apps for PocketBook devices went down significantly when they started culling functions from InkView and breaking my previous projects. It's good that you provided a build yourself because I probably wasn't going to get around to it with all the extra work required just to get the latest SDK working. Thanks for doing the work.

[CrazyCoder]

Thanks! I didn't try the jailbreak with the 6.10, it likely won't work, so reverted to 6.8 for now to have working SSH access with your instructions for changing /dev/ptmx permissions to get working TTY.

On my FW /usr/dev is actually a tar archive (/usr/dev.tar). So you need to unpack it, change the permissions of the ptmx file to 666 and pack it back for the changes to persist after the reboot.

I also forgot to remove debug logging from ssh/sshd_config in the shared zip. You may want to remove this line: "LogLevel DEBUG".

[rkomar]

Personally, I use utelnetd to get a terminal on my devices. Have you tried that instead of ssh? I still use scp to transfer documents over, though.

[CrazyCoder]

Oh, thanks for the tip! I'll give it a try.

[SERG-987]

Hello!

sonoma@iMac-Sonoma dist % ls ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

ls: /Users/sonoma/.ssh/id_rsa.pub: No such file or directory
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma dist % cd /Volumes/Pocket912/applications/pb_sshd/etc/ssh
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ssh % ls
sshd_config
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ssh % ssh-keygen -b 1024 -t rsa
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/sonoma/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter passphrase for "/Users/sonoma/.ssh/id_rsa" (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /Users/sonoma/.ssh/id_rsa
Your public key has been saved in /Users/sonoma/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:vvgbXKV/MLf88bvA6HCXahFaiM96Cr0R37c7CE0YIvY sonoma@iMac-Sonoma.local
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 1024]----+
| |
| o . . |
| . o o + . |
| E o * |
| .S B + . |
| .oo*.+o=.. |
| . o=o.++*+. |
| .oo++o+oo.o|
| .+*..o ooo=|
+----[SHA256]-----+
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ssh % ls -h
authorized_keys2 sshd_config
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ssh % cd
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ~ % ssh -p 1124 sreader@192.168.1.233
ssh: connect to host 192.168.1.233 port 1124: Connection refused
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ~ % ssh -p 1124 sreader@192.168.1.233
The authenticity of host '[192.168.1.233]:1124 ([192.168.1.233]:1124)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:jKWpCYVdw5jNKwRGQJETznygga7YrGFJdpstWAZSkt8 .
This key is not known by any other names.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? y
Please type 'yes', 'no' or the fingerprint: yes
Warning: Permanently added '[192.168.1.233]:1124' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
sreader@192.168.1.233's password:

What is the mistake? PocketBook 912.

[SERG-987]

sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ssh % cat /Volumes/Pocket912/applications/pb_sshd/etc/ssh/authorized_keys2

ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAAAgQCuFUWywgWqRflqKs2mwg CqQdi3mYJrkkNEkwjT9W9ovD9RPWSH3ghL/gaIYDJc8z9mJS1Pjhup3jMEDgBAjMydD63B66O9h7Q5JyE5gAk B5wA9/ftBPLzeaVlYHFoAn5eszn/xta5RhsCHC7TuH/GI4MyRx+OVSn7b2B7KAj3xAQ== sonoma@iMac-Sonoma.local
sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ssh %

[CrazyCoder]

Did you dry 'reader' login instead of 'sreader'?

[SERG-987]

Originally Posted by CrazyCoder

Did you dry 'reader' login instead of 'sreader'?

Yes.


Here is the solution.

sonoma@iMac-Sonoma ~ % ssh -p 1124 -o HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa sreader@192.168.1.233

PTY allocation request failed on channel 0
ls
bin
dev
ebrmain
etc
lib
lost+found
mnt
proc
sbin
sys
tmp
usr
var
df -h
Filesystem Size Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/root 26.6M 17.7M 7.5M 70% /
none 128.0M 144.0K 127.9M 0% /var
tmpfs 124.4M 0 124.4M 0% /var/dev/shm
/dev/mmcblk0p3 133.7M 114.7M 19.1M 86% /ebrmain
/dev/mmcblk0p2 612.5M 114.4M 498.1M 19% /mnt/secure
/dev/loop0 105.3M 105.3M 0 100% /ebrmain/cramfs
/dev/mmcblk0p1 952.8M 349.7M 603.2M 37% /mnt/ext1
/dev/mmcblk1 7.3G 2.6G 4.7G 36% /mnt/ext2

[SilverGreen93]

Hi, I just updated my PocketBook InkPad Color 3 to software version 6.10, but SSH/SCP connection is now broken. I re-copied the latest pb_sshd from here, but I still get:

>ssh reader@192.168.0.160 -p 1124
Connection closed by 192.168.0.160 port 1124

Here is the debug log from the PocketBook:

debug1: sshd version OpenSSH_10.2, OpenSSL 3.4.1 11 Feb 2025
/mnt/ext1/applications/pb_sshd/etc/ssh/sshd_config line 4: Deprecated option UsePrivilegeSeparation
/mnt/ext1/applications/pb_sshd/etc/ssh/sshd_config line 7: Deprecated option RSAAuthentication
debug1: private host key #0: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 SHA256:0dvfKf7ShezGeqlKVJX7kNciuYs6Nrs82EuJZJZH7/A
debug1: private host key #1: ssh-rsa SHA256:pNXuQLZNUGH53WKQBOLftLwDiF14/A2Auc1D9MQAh58
debug1: setgroups() failed: Operation not permitted
debug1: rexec_argv[1]='-f'
debug1: rexec_argv[2]='/mnt/ext1/applications/pb_sshd/etc/ssh/sshd_config'
debug1: rexec_argv[3]='-h'
debug1: rexec_argv[4]='/mnt/ext1/applications/pb_sshd/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key'
debug1: rexec_argv[5]='-h'
debug1: rexec_argv[6]='/mnt/ext1/applications/pb_sshd/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key'
debug1: rexec_argv[7]='-d'
debug1: rexec_argv[8]='-e'
socket: Address family not supported by protocol
debug1: Bind to port 1124 on 0.0.0.0.
Server listening on 0.0.0.0 port 1124.
debug1: Server will not fork when running in debugging mode.
debug1: rexec start in 7 out 7 newsock 7 config_s 8/9
rexec line 4: Deprecated option UsePrivilegeSeparation
rexec line 7: Deprecated option RSAAuthentication
debug1: sshd-session version OpenSSH_10.2, OpenSSL 3.4.1 11 Feb 2025
debug1: network sockets: 6, 6
Connection from 192.168.0.10 port 55599 on 192.168.0.160 port 1124
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_10.2
debug1: Remote protocol version 2.0, remote software version OpenSSH_for_Windows_9.5
debug1: compat_banner: match: OpenSSH_for_Windows_9.5 pat OpenSSH* compat 0x04000000
debug1: network sockets: 5, 5 [preauth]
debug1: mm_answer_state: config len 322
rexec line 4: Deprecated option UsePrivilegeSeparation [preauth]
rexec line 7: Deprecated option RSAAuthentication [preauth]
debug1: sshd-auth version OpenSSH_10.2, OpenSSL 3.4.1 11 Feb 2025 [preauth]
debug1: list_hostkey_types: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,rsa-sha2-512,rsa-sha2-256 [preauth]
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent [preauth]
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received [preauth]
debug1: kex: algorithm: curve25519-sha256 [preauth]
debug1: kex: host key algorithm: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 [preauth]
debug1: kex: client->server cipher: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com MAC: <implicit> compression: none [preauth]
debug1: kex: server->client cipher: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com MAC: <implicit> compression: none [preauth]
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_ECDH_INIT [preauth]
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_ECDH_INIT received [preauth]
debug1: mm_answer_sign: hostkey ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 index 0
debug1: ssh_packet_send2_wrapped: resetting send seqnr 3 [preauth]
debug1: rekey out after 134217728 blocks [preauth]
debug1: monitor_read_log: child log fd closed
mm_reap: child terminated by signal 31
debug1: do_cleanup
debug1: Killing privsep child 9062

Here is the debug log from the Windows client:

OpenSSH_for_Windows_9.5p2, LibreSSL 3.8.2
debug1: Reading configuration data C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/config
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/ProgramData/ssh/ssh_config error:2
debug2: resolve_canonicalize: hostname 192.168.0.160 is address
debug3: expanded UserKnownHostsFile '~/.ssh/known_hosts' -> 'C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/known_hosts'
debug3: expanded UserKnownHostsFile '~/.ssh/known_hosts2' -> 'C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/known_hosts2'
debug3: ssh_connect_direct: entering
debug1: Connecting to 192.168.0.160 [192.168.0.160] port 1124.
debug1: Connection established.
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_rsa type 0
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_rsa-cert error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_rsa-cert.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_rsa-cert error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_rsa-cert type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa-cert error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa-cert.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa-cert error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa-cert type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk-cert error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk-cert.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk-cert error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk-cert type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519 error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519 error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519 type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519-cert error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519-cert.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519-cert error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519-cert type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk-cert error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk-cert.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk-cert error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk-cert type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss-cert error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss-cert.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss-cert error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_xmss-cert type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa type -1
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa-cert error:2
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa-cert.pub error:2
debug3: failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa-cert error:2
debug1: identity file C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/id_dsa-cert type -1
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_for_Windows_9.5
debug1: Remote protocol version 2.0, remote software version OpenSSH_10.2
debug1: compat_banner: match: OpenSSH_10.2 pat OpenSSH* compat 0x04000000
debug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK
debug1: Authenticating to 192.168.0.160:1124 as 'reader'
debug3: put_host_port: [192.168.0.160]:1124
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/Users/Mihai/.ssh/known_hosts2 error:2
debug1: load_hostkeys: fopen C:\\Users\\Mihai/.ssh/known_hosts2: No such file or directory
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/ProgramData/ssh/ssh_known_hosts error:2
debug1: load_hostkeys: fopen __PROGRAMDATA__\\ssh/ssh_known_hosts: No such file or directory
debug3: Failed to open file:C:/ProgramData/ssh/ssh_known_hosts2 error:2
debug1: load_hostkeys: fopen __PROGRAMDATA__\\ssh/ssh_known_hosts2: No such file or directory
debug3: order_hostkeyalgs: no algorithms matched; accept original
debug3: send packet: type 20
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent
debug3: receive packet: type 20
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received
debug2: local client KEXINIT proposal
debug2: KEX algorithms: curve25519-sha256,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org,ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256,diffie-hellman-group16-sha512,diffie-hellman-group18-sha512,diffie-hellman-group14-sha256,ext-info-c,kex-strict-c-v00@openssh.com
debug2: host key algorithms: ssh-ed25519-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384-cert-v01@openssh.com,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521-cert-v01@openssh.com,sk-ssh-ed25519-cert-v01@openssh.com,sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256-cert-v01@openssh.com,rsa-sha2-512-cert-v01@openssh.com,rsa-sha2-256-cert-v01@openssh.com,ssh-ed25519,ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521,sk-ssh-ed25519@openssh.com,sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256@openssh.com,rsa-sha2-512,rsa-sha2-256
debug2: ciphers ctos: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com
debug2: ciphers stoc: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com
debug2: MACs ctos: umac-64-etm@openssh.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512
debug2: MACs stoc: umac-64-etm@openssh.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512
debug2: compression ctos: none,zlib@openssh.com,zlib
debug2: compression stoc: none,zlib@openssh.com,zlib
debug2: languages ctos:
debug2: languages stoc:
debug2: first_kex_follows 0
debug2: reserved 0
debug2: peer server KEXINIT proposal
debug2: KEX algorithms: mlkem768x25519-sha256,sntrup761x25519-sha512,sntrup761x25519-sha512@openssh.com,curve25519-sha256,curve25519-sha256@libssh.org,ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521,ext-info-s,kex-strict-s-v00@openssh.com
debug2: host key algorithms: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,rsa-sha2-512,rsa-sha2-256
debug2: ciphers ctos: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr
debug2: ciphers stoc: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com,aes128-gcm@openssh.com,aes256-gcm@openssh.com,aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr
debug2: MACs ctos: umac-64-etm@openssh.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha1-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512,hmac-sha1
debug2: MACs stoc: umac-64-etm@openssh.com,umac-128-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com,hmac-sha1-etm@openssh.com,umac-64@openssh.com,umac-128@openssh.com,hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512,hmac-sha1
debug2: compression ctos: none,zlib@openssh.com
debug2: compression stoc: none,zlib@openssh.com
debug2: languages ctos:
debug2: languages stoc:
debug2: first_kex_follows 0
debug2: reserved 0
debug3: kex_choose_conf: will use strict KEX ordering
debug1: kex: algorithm: curve25519-sha256
debug1: kex: host key algorithm: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256
debug1: kex: server->client cipher: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com MAC: <implicit> compression: none
debug1: kex: client->server cipher: chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com MAC: <implicit> compression: none
debug3: send packet: type 30
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_ECDH_REPLY

[rkomar]

If you are using an RSA keypair, did you try adding the openssh options shown in @SERG-987's post just above? A lot of old algorithms have been disabled by default in recent versions of openssh.

[SilverGreen93]

Originally Posted by rkomar

If you are using an RSA keypair, did you try adding the openssh options shown in @SERG-987's post just above? A lot of old algorithms have been disabled by default in recent versions of openssh.

Do you mean just doing ssh like:

>ssh reader@192.168.0.160 -p 1124 -o HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa
Connection closed by 192.168.0.160 port 1124

I still get the same error. I also tried with ED25519 key. Tried with both reader and sreader as username.