Ssh: No route to host

[wisealex]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I am unable to connect to a Windows machine from a macOS machine using the ‘Remote - SSH’ extension in Cursor IDE.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Connect to Host…
2. Select existing SSH config

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 2.4.21
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: dc8361355d709f306d5159635a677a571b277bc0
Date: 2026-01-22T16:57:59.675Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.2.7
Chromium: 142.0.7444.235
Node.js: 22.21.1
V8: 14.2.231.21-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

Additional Information

1. I can connect using the same SSH configuration from the terminal.
2. I can connect using the same SSH configuration through VS Code.
3. I have granted “Local Network” permissions to the Cursor application.
4. Here is the log from the “Remote - SSH” extension:

2026-01-26 03:03:55.229 [info] Resolving ssh remote authority 'windows' (Unparsed 'ssh-remote+7b22686f73744e616d65223a2277696e646f7773227d') (attempt #1)
2026-01-26 03:03:55.232 [info] SSH askpass server listening on /var/folders/8j/kw4hs35x52l_2xj66pw2vnyh0000gn/T/cursor-ssh-1p2QUa/socket.sock
2026-01-26 03:03:55.233 [info] Using configured platform windows for remote host windows
2026-01-26 03:03:55.233 [info] Using askpass script: /Users/wisealex/.cursor/extensions/anysphere.remote-ssh-1.0.38/dist/scripts/launchSSHAskpass.sh with javascript file /Users/wisealex/.cursor/extensions/anysphere.remote-ssh-1.0.38/dist/scripts/sshAskClient.js. Askpass handle: /var/folders/8j/kw4hs35x52l_2xj66pw2vnyh0000gn/T/cursor-ssh-1p2QUa/socket.sock
2026-01-26 03:03:55.234 [info] Command length (8191 max): 8168
2026-01-26 03:03:55.235 [info] Launching SSH server via shell with command: cat "/var/folders/8j/kw4hs35x52l_2xj66pw2vnyh0000gn/T/cursor_remote_install_dd368b47-5517-46f2-b583-0377dac9faba.ps1" | ssh -T -v -D 58027 windows powershell -NoProfile
2026-01-26 03:03:55.235 [info] Waiting for server to install. Timeout: 30000ms
2026-01-26 03:03:55.341 [info] (ssh_tunnel) stdout: cat "/var/folders/8j/kw4hs35x52l_2xj66pw2vnyh0000gn/T/cursor_remote_install_dd368b47-5517-46f2-b583-0377dac9faba.ps1" | ssh -T -v -D 58027 windows powershell -NoProfile; echo "Exit code: $?. Finished running command."
e[?1034hsh-3.2$ cat "/va
2026-01-26 03:03:55.350 [info] (ssh_tunnel) stdout: r/folders/8j/kw4hs35x52l_2xj66pw2vnyh0000gn/T/cursor_remote_install_dd368b47-5517-46f2-b583-0377dac9faba.ps1" | ssh -T -v -D 58027 windows powershell -NoProfile; echo "Exit code: $?. Finished run 
ning command."
OpenSSH_9.9p2, LibreSSL 3.3.6

debug1: Reading configuration data /Users/wisealex/.ssh/config


2026-01-26 03:03:55.357 [info] (ssh_tunnel) stdout: debug1: Reading configuration data /Users/wisealex/.orbstack/ssh/config

debug1: /Users/wisealex/.ssh/config line 6: Applying options for *

debug1: /Users/wisealex/.ssh/config line 19: Applying options for windows

debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config

debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config.d/100-macos.conf

debug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config.d/100-macos.conf line 1: Applying options for *

debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/crypto.conf

debug1: Authenticator provider $SSH_SK_PROVIDER did not resolve; disabling

debug1: Connecting to 192.168.1.16 [192.168.1.16] port 22.

debug1: connect to address 192.168.1.16 port 22: No route to host

ssh: connect to host 192.168.1.16 port 22: No route to host

Exit code: 255. Finished running command.
sh-3.2$ 
2026-01-26 03:03:55.358 [error] Error installing server: Failed to connect to the remote SSH host. Please check the logs for more details.
2026-01-26 03:03:55.358 [info] Deleting local script /var/folders/8j/kw4hs35x52l_2xj66pw2vnyh0000gn/T/cursor_remote_install_dd368b47-5517-46f2-b583-0377dac9faba.ps1
2026-01-26 03:03:55.359 [error] Error resolving SSH authority Failed to connect to the remote SSH host. Please check the logs for more details.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known macOS behavior related to Local Network access permissions.

Even if you enabled this permission for Cursor, macOS sometimes shows Cursor under a different app name in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network. A few users have hit this exact issue: similar case here.

Try this:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network
2. Temporarily turn on the toggle for ALL apps in that list
3. Try connecting over SSH again
4. If it works, turn them off one by one to find which app is actually controlling Cursor’s network access

Another option: remove Cursor from the Local Network list, if it’s there, then restart Cursor. macOS should prompt you for the permission again.

Also worth trying: open Cursor’s built-in terminal (Ctrl+`) and run ping 192.168.1.16. Sometimes that triggers the system permission prompt.

Let me know if any of this helped!

[wisealex]

Yes, it helped. Thanks!