edward curve auth is still not supported when fips is enabled, as of esxi v8 (aug 2025)
therefore, you –either– need to disable FIPS
esxcli system security fips140 ssh get esxcli system security fips140 ssh set -e false
–or– simply use bad old RSA
–either– from the web ui
(select the esxi node) Configure tab System / Services SSH --> start & enable with host
–or– using the cli
vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh
–or– dirty style
vi /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh /etc/init.d/SSH start
also get rid of the ssh warning in the web ui
vim-cmd hostsvc/advopt/update UserVars.SuppressShellWarning long 1
once TSM-SSH service is enabled, connect as root
ssh esxi-node -l root
further configurations
esxcli system ssh server config list
https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/383999/how-to-enable-fips-in-vsphere-environmen.html ==> how to disable fips
FW https://williamlam.com/2024/10/quick-tip-ssh-server-client-authorized-key-configurations-for-esxi-7-0-update-1-and-later.html ==> esxcfg usage, fips vs no fips
https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/324525/modifying-the-rclocal-or-localsh-file-in.html
https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/367599/warning-for-shell-and-ssh-being-enabled.html
https://woshub.com/ssh-key-based-auth-vmware-esxi/ ==> deprecated, there’s no standalone sshd_config no more