how to recover lost pem key in aws?
Losing a PEM key in AWS can be problematic because the key is required to access instances securely. If you've lost your PEM key, you can't retrieve it, but you have some options to regain access to your instances:
Correct, once you've lost or misplaced a PEM key in AWS, there's no direct way to retrieve or recover it from AWS itself. This is by design to maintain the security of your instances. The private key is meant to remain confidential, and AWS does not store or keep copies of user-generated keys for security reasons.
Your options, as previously mentioned, are primarily centered around regaining access to your AWS resources without the lost key. These methods involve working with existing backups, snapshots, or creating new resources with different keys.
It's crucial always to keep backups of your PEM keys in a secure location. Additionally, consider implementing other access management practices, such as using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles for accessing resources, which do not rely on key pairs in the same way EC2 instances do.
1. Use Another Key Pair:
Context: This method assumes that you have another PEM key pair that you can use to access the instance.
Steps:
Stop the Instance: If the instance is running, you'll need to stop it first.
Detach the Old Root Volume or Create an AMI:
Navigate to the AWS EC2 Dashboard.
Find the instance in question, select it, and then under the "Actions" menu, choose "Instance State" > "Stop" to stop the instance.
Once the instance is stopped, you can create an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) from it or detach its root volume.
Launch a New Instance with the New Key Pair:
Create a new EC2 instance. During the creation process, you'll be prompted to select a key pair. Choose the key pair that you have (not the lost one).
Attach the Old Root Volume or Use the AMI:
If you created an AMI, use it to launch a new instance. If you detached the old root volume, you can attach it to the new instance.
Access the New Instance: Now, you should be able to access this new instance using the new key pair. If everything looks good and all necessary data is there, you can terminate the old instance.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Halting the Instance:
Head to the AWS EC2 Dashboard.
Locate your affected instance, click on it, and from the "Actions" dropdown, select "Instance State" followed by "Stop".
2. Transition or Preserve Data:
Now that the instance is off, you have two choices:
a. Create an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) from the stopped instance.
b. Detach the instance's root volume for later use.
3. Launching a Fresh Instance:
Initiate the setup of a new EC2 instance. When prompted to choose a key pair, opt for the one you still possess (not the lost one).
4. Reconnect with Previous Data:
If you opted for an AMI, use it to spin up a new instance.
If you detached the root volume earlier, now's the time to reattach it to the fresh instance.
5. Validate and Clean Up:
You should now have access to this newly-created instance using your alternate key pair. After ensuring all your data is intact and the setup looks correct, you can safely terminate the inaccessible instance.
2. Attach the Instance's Root Volume to Another Instance:
Context: This method allows you to access the file system of the original instance by attaching its root volume to another instance.
#Steps:
Create a Snapshot of the Instance's Root Volume:
Navigate to the AWS EC2 Dashboard.
In the left-hand navigation pane, under "Elastic Block Store", select "Volumes".
Find the volume attached to your instance, select it, and choose "Create Snapshot".
Create a New Instance with a Different Key Pair:
Launch a new EC2 instance. This instance will be used temporarily to mount and modify the volume.
Detach the New Instance's Root Volume and Attach the Snapshot:
Stop the new instance.
Detach its root volume.
Create a new volume from the snapshot you created earlier.
Attach the new volume to the new instance, ensuring it's mounted as a secondary volume (like /dev/sdf).
Mount the Volume and Replace the authorized_keys:
SSH into the new instance.
Mount the volume using the appropriate commands (e.g., sudo mkdir /mnt/myvolume; sudo mount /dev/xvdf /mnt/myvolume).
Navigate to the .ssh directory of the mounted volume and replace the authorized_keys file (or the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file, if present) with a version that allows access with the new key pair.
Reattach the Volume to the Original Instance and Start:
Once the modifications are done, unmount the volume (sudo umount /mnt/myvolume).
Detach the volume from the temporary instance.
Attach the volume back to the original instance, ensuring it's attached as the root volume (like /dev/sda1).
Start the original instance and try accessing it with the new key pair.
These steps can be complex, especially if you're not familiar with AWS or Linux systems. If unsure, consider seeking assistance or consulting AWS documentation to ensure you don't accidentally delete or modify critical data.
Notes:
Correct, once you've lost or misplaced a PEM key in AWS, there's no direct way to retrieve or recover it from AWS itself. This is by design to maintain the security of your instances. The private key is meant to remain confidential, and AWS does not store or keep copies of user-generated keys for security reasons.
Your options, as previously mentioned, are primarily centered around regaining access to your AWS resources without the lost key. These methods involve working with existing backups, snapshots, or creating new resources with different keys.
It's crucial always to keep backups of your PEM keys in a secure location. Additionally, consider implementing other access management practices, such as using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles for accessing resources, which do not rely on key pairs in the same way EC2 instances do.
AWS Support:
If the instance is critical and you can't recover it using the above methods, you can contact AWS support. They might be able to help you, although there are no guarantees, especially if data is encrypted with that key.
Backup Strategies:
Always ensure you have backups of critical data and configurations, including your PEM keys. AWS provides various services like AWS Backup, Amazon S3, and EBS snapshots that can help in creating and managing backups.
IAM Role:
For future instances, consider using IAM roles instead of key pairs for access. IAM roles allow you to grant permissions to AWS services and users without the need for a PEM key.
Always Store Keys Securely: Moving forward, use secure and consistent methods to store and manage your keys. Consider using AWS Secrets Manager or AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store to securely store and manage sensitive information like keys.
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