How to fix Bad owner or permissions on /home/user/.ssh/config in SSH

The .ssh directory must have 700 permissions (owner read/write/execute only). Run:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh

Verify the permissions:

ls -ld ~/.ssh

Should show: drwx------ ... username

The config file must have 600 permissions (owner read/write only). Run:

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config

Verify the permissions:

ls -l ~/.ssh/config

Should show: -rw------- 1 username groupname ...

If the file doesn't exist yet, SSH won't complain, but when you create one, ensure you set these permissions immediately.

The .ssh directory and all its contents must be owned by your user account. Run:

chown -R $USER ~/.ssh

Verify ownership:

ls -l ~/.ssh

All files should list your username as the owner. If the group is different from your primary group, you can also fix it with:

chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.ssh

If you have multiple files with permission issues, run all fixes together:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Common permissions for SSH files:
- ~/.ssh/ → 700 (drwx------)
- ~/.ssh/config → 600 (-rw-------)
- ~/.ssh/id_rsa (private key) → 600 (-rw-------)
- ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub (public key) → 644 (-rw-r--r--)
- ~/.ssh/authorized_keys → 600 (-rw-------)

If you're on Windows (WSL or native OpenSSH), inherited permissions from parent directories can cause issues:

1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to your .ssh folder (usually C:\Users\YourUsername\.ssh)
2. Right-click the .ssh folder → Properties
3. Click the Security tab → Click Advanced
4. Click "Disable inheritance" button
5. Choose "Remove all inherited permissions from this object"
6. Click OK

Then set explicit permissions:
- In Advanced Security Settings, click "Add"
- Click "Select a principal", then type your Windows username
- Click "Check Names"
- Give yourself Full Control
- Remove all other entries except SYSTEM

Click OK to apply and close all dialogs.

After fixing permissions, test that SSH works:

ssh -v localhost

The -v flag shows verbose output. If you see the error again, it will display which file has the problem. A successful connection will show:

...
debug1: Configuration found in /home/user/.ssh/config
...

You can also test a specific SSH key or host:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa username@remote-host

If the error persists after fixing permissions, verify that you're using the correct username and that the .ssh directory path is correct (it should always be in your home directory).