diff --git a/lib/ssh.py b/lib/ssh.py
index 5d94b1a898e829121c81bc1010a6838967abbf67..e87b19da70a640c413c82078500e3fd8775f41d5 100644
--- a/lib/ssh.py
+++ b/lib/ssh.py
@@ -233,6 +233,6 @@ def WriteKnownHostsFile(cfg, file_name):
   """Writes the cluster-wide equally known_hosts file.
 
   """
-  utils.WriteFile(file_name, mode=0700,
+  utils.WriteFile(file_name, mode=0600,
                   data="%s ssh-rsa %s\n" % (cfg.GetClusterName(),
                                             cfg.GetHostKey()))