Using Key Pairs on OpenSSH on Win2k3

Hello all, I am hoping someone on this list has a good idea how to resolve the following difficulty. I need to connect from a linux server to a windows server via ssh in a script and I need to use keypairs to do this.

I have installed Openssh on the win2k3 server and I have implemented the keypairs. Connecting to the win2k3 server it seems that the keypairs are working well, but then I am immediately disconnected from the win2k3 server. Running ssh with the verbose switch, I get the following:

debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,password,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /root/.ssh/identity
debug1: Offering public key: /root/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Server accepts key: pkalg ssh-rsa blen 277
debug1: read PEM private key done: type RSA
debug1: Authentication succeeded (publickey).
debug1: channel 0: new [client-session]
debug1: Entering interactive session.
debug1: Sending environment.
debug1: Sending env LANG = en_US.UTF-8
Last login: Wed May 21 15:44:10 2008 from Larry
debug1: client_input_channel_req: channel 0 rtype exit-status reply 0
debug1: channel 0: free: client-session, nchannels 1
Connection to production closed.
debug1: Transferred: stdin 0, stdout 0, stderr 35 bytes in 0.2 seconds
debug1: Bytes per second: stdin 0.0, stdout 0.0, stderr 178.7
debug1: Exit status 255

I am currently researching the exit status 255 message, but for the rest I am not sure. The authentication is clearly working and I get into the server based on the key exchange but I am being booted right back out. Another oddity, and I am at a loss to explain this so far, the StrictModes option in sshd_config plays a role: when set to yes, the keypair authentication fails. When set to no, it succeeds but I am immediately disconnected form the server.

Any ideas?

Robert

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