How do I know if *.pem is password protected using ssh-keygen? (2024)

It is pretty easy to see if an SSH key has been encrypted. Simply look for the Proc-Type: 4,ENCRYPTED in the body. Here are a few example keys in various forms.

RSA with password

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----Proc-Type: 4,ENCRYPTEDDEK-Info: AES-128-CBC,AF51A101888567A12C6E384AFBD2B963AAp6xVAtPP/qmr8T1WjAac8jjfQmToW8Hd4ik95zA/fkH2SJgy7hwuyl1AuVyQuq

RSA without password

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----MIIJJwIBAAKCAgEAwwXQEPzdutisd8Wl/TSNrp4HVnY7R87at30OiN46GcPPcV6q

DSA with password

-----BEGIN DSA PRIVATE KEY-----Proc-Type: 4,ENCRYPTEDDEK-Info: AES-128-CBC,2B9F1E1503F57CCC663397AB03CBF3F9MVJ+F/AoJKW/XGtx0N2yrmLfJc276XIZzGYHRuCHmxUXlRkWpmi9gSUO8bNWgymf

DSA without password

-----BEGIN DSA PRIVATE KEY-----MIIBuwIBAAKBgQD1qn6U7ve6yqHTu1XuiOyF/9A+n3MJFXNrTt9jHg7Pn5zssqwO

ECDSA with password

-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----Proc-Type: 4,ENCRYPTEDDEK-Info: AES-128-CBC,5A3BB12B9B9E17A9A569001A0498969DLrGoz5tXNI4KMxx7zb1H6beJZ8kEwc2FLLglD0kNzilTLeNMooC1NoMNhRD9XCo6

ECDSA without password

-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----MHcCAQEEILU3EwLQa2rSZdIMkbiE5VDrjlcoeJEF5IsYfGy0Hz4JoAoGCCqGSM49AwEHoUQDQgAEHJCNvU9hVeByhp9CpSmvHphb82iSp52pL0ZJqVvqFY/swXPB1NMU