The IgnoreRhosts parameter specifies that .rhosts and .shosts files will not be used in RhostsRSAAuthentication or HostbasedAuthentication . Rationale: Setting this parameter forces users to enter a password when authenticating with ssh.
Solution
Edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file to set the parameter as follows: IgnoreRhosts yes Restart sshd : systemctl restart sshd