Is an SSH private key hash reversible?

No. SSH private key is a one-way hash; you cannot reverse it. You can only guess inputs and compare, which is what hashcat and John do.

What is the hashcat mode for SSH private key?

Use `-m 22911` to tell hashcat to treat the input as SSH private key.

How long does it take to crack SSH private key?

SSH private key is fast to compute, so weak passwords often fall in seconds to minutes on a GPU; strong, long passwords remain infeasible.

Is an SSH private key hash reversible?

No. SSH private key is a one-way hash; you cannot reverse it. You can only guess inputs and compare, which is what hashcat and John do.

What is the hashcat mode for SSH private key?

Use `-m 22911` to tell hashcat to treat the input as SSH private key.

How long does it take to crack SSH private key?

SSH private key is fast to compute, so weak passwords often fall in seconds to minutes on a GPU; strong, long passwords remain infeasible.

How to identify and crack an SSH private key hash

SSH private key is an application hash type. It is fast and typically unsalted, which makes weak passwords recoverable quickly on consumer GPU hardware. This page shows how to recognise it and the exact commands to attack it.

All identification runs locally in WebAssembly. The commands below write the hash to a local file on your machine — nothing is sent to this site.

Identifying the hash

The hash identifier on the home page detects SSH private key entirely in your browser — your hash is never uploaded. A typical example looks like this:

$sshng$0$8$1e6e8f08b101eb55$1224$30d8c8...

Cracking SSH private key with hashcat

Save the hash to a file and run hashcat in mode -m 22911. Start with a wordlist such as rockyou.txt:

echo '$sshng$0$8$1e6e8f08b101eb55$1224$30d8c8...' > hash.txt && hashcat -m 22911 hash.txt /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt

Add a rule set to mutate dictionary words (capitalisation, leetspeak, appended digits) and dramatically widen coverage:

echo '$sshng$0$8$1e6e8f08b101eb55$1224$30d8c8...' > hash.txt && hashcat -m 22911 hash.txt /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt -r /usr/share/hashcat/rules/best64.rule

Cracking SSH private key with John the Ripper

John the Ripper can attack the same hash with the ssh format:

echo '$sshng$0$8$1e6e8f08b101eb55$1224$30d8c8...' > hash.txt && john --format=ssh --wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt hash.txt