Reinstalled Qubes, Restored Backup, Server Fingerprint Not Verified

User Support
1

I did a full system wipe and installed the latest Qubes release. I restored my backups.

I use one of my Qubes to connect to a server using ssh.

Before the upgrade the host had some sort of malfunction and I received an email. I did not learn about this until after the upgrade. The console dashboard on the host site shows the server had downtime and there was a message in the console showing they may restored data (although I never paid for backup).

I use the remote server for backing up contacts. The data is not that sensitive but the contact information could be used by a bad actor and if the server was compromised then my contacts should know. I have taken other steps to protect info after host problem but am not sure if I should let contacts know.

After restoring my backup after host attacked I tried to connect to the server using ssh and the qube said the fingerprint could not be verified. If there is a mismatch I would expect to see a warning. I am not sure if the backup did not restore the ssh fingerprint of the server. I also am not able to press the up arrow to see previous terminal history and do not understand why this is lost.

I had multiple templates of Debian and Fedora and it’s possible I selected the wrong template or never restored the correct template. I did not restore every template yet. Could this be why there is no history? Could this be why the server fingerprint does not verify?

I have not logged into the server yet since there is a password for the ssh key and I don’t want to put that into the server until I understand what has happened.

Is there a file for the fingerprint of the server that is in this Qube that I can find so I know the fingerprint is there and the server is different? The host has responded to emails but isn’t giving much info.

What should I do now?

2

Welcome @christa!

That seems unlikely to me, because I would expect both your terminal history and the list of hosts known to SSH to be stored in the home directory (that is persistent in / provided by the AppVM that you backed up and restored).

For example (locations may vary depending on your setup):

  • terminal history: ~/.bash_history
  • SSH known hosts*: ~/.ssh/known_hosts

The only part of all this that’s specific to Qubes OS is what belongs to the AppVM and what belongs to its TemplateVM. You can find information about the rest in general linux forums (example in the note below).

If you’re unsure about how data is distributed between AppVM and TemplateVM, this section of the documentation describes it in detail:

I hope this helps!

* Note that the SSH known hosts file does not contain the server fingerprints directly, but some information that’s equivalent. (Details (StackExchange website))