How to Recover AWS EC2 SSH key (lost or corrupted)

by CoolGiftson

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides a convenient and reliable cloud computing platform for businesses and individuals to build, deploy, and manage their applications. One of the key services offered by AWS is the Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which enables users to launch and manage virtual machines in the cloud. In order to access these EC2 instances, users typically use SSH keys for authentication. However, if you lose or corrupt your SSH key, it can be a frustrating experience. In this blog post, we'll discuss how to recover an AWS EC2 SSH key that has been lost or corrupted.

Step 1: Create a new key pair


The first step in recovering a lost or corrupted AWS EC2 SSH key is to create a new key pair. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the AWS Management Console.
  2. Navigate to the EC2 dashboard.
  3. Select the region where your instance is located.
  4. Click on "Key Pairs" in the left-hand menu.
  5. Click "Create Key Pair".
  6. Enter a name for your new key pair and click "Create".

Step 2: Launch a new instance


Once you have created a new key pair, the next step is to launch a new EC2 instance. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Click on "Launch Instance" in the EC2 dashboard.
  2. Select the AMI (Amazon Machine Image) for the instance you want to launch.
  3. Choose the instance type and configure any other settings as desired.
  4. In the "Configure Security Group" step, make sure to add a rule to allow SSH traffic from your IP address.
  5. In the "Key Pair" step, select the new key pair that you created in Step 1.
  6. Launch the instance.

Step 3: Attach the EBS volume


Now that you have launched a new EC2 instance with a new key pair, the next step is to attach the EBS volume from the original instance. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Stop the original instance.
  2. Create a snapshot of the EBS volume associated with the instance.
  3. Create a new EBS volume from the snapshot.
  4. Attach the new EBS volume to the new instance that you launched in Step 2.

Step 4: Mount the EBS volume


After you have attached the EBS volume to the new instance, the final step is to mount the volume and copy the necessary files over to the new instance. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Connect to the new instance using the new key pair that you created in Step
  2. Create a mount point for the EBS volume.
  3. Mount the EBS volume to the mount point.
  4. Copy the necessary files (such as the authorized_keys file) from the mounted EBS volume to the appropriate directories on the new instance.
  5. Unmount the EBS volume.

Conclusion:


Losing or corrupting an AWS EC2 SSH key can be a frustrating experience, but recovering it is not impossible. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can create a new key pair, launch a new instance, attach and mount the EBS volume, and copy the necessary files over to the new instance. With these steps, you can recover your lost or corrupted SSH key and regain access to your EC2 instance.