diff --git a/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-noble.yaml b/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-noble.yaml
index 76e811f300..bd47a53c91 100644
--- a/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-noble.yaml
+++ b/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-noble.yaml
@@ -9,12 +9,10 @@ users:
     groups: sudo
     homedir: /home/ubuntu
     shell: /bin/bash
-    ssh_authorized_keys:
-      - ${SSH_PUBLIC_KEY}
 chpasswd:
   expire: false
   users:
-    - {name: ubuntu, password: ubuntu, type: text}
+    - {name: ubuntu, password: '', type: text}
 
 package_update: true
 package_upgrade: true
@@ -68,6 +66,11 @@ write_files:
       Match User *@*
           KbdInteractiveAuthentication yes
 
+  - path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/password-auth.conf
+    content: |
+      PermitEmptyPasswords yes
+      PasswordAuthentication yes
+
   # Bind sshd to VSOCK socket
   - path: /etc/systemd/system/sshd-vsock.service
     content: |
diff --git a/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-questing.yaml b/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-questing.yaml
index 3a1eb731b1..b441a0c98b 100644
--- a/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-questing.yaml
+++ b/e2e-tests/vm/cloud-init-template-questing.yaml
@@ -9,12 +9,10 @@ users:
     groups: sudo
     homedir: /home/ubuntu
     shell: /bin/bash
-    ssh_authorized_keys:
-      - ${SSH_PUBLIC_KEY}
 chpasswd:
   expire: false
   users:
-    - {name: ubuntu, password: ubuntu, type: text}
+    - {name: ubuntu, password: '', type: text}
 
 package_update: true
 package_upgrade: true
diff --git a/e2e-tests/vm/config.sh.template b/e2e-tests/vm/config.sh.template
index 3f624408bc..2e8d7e9fbf 100644
--- a/e2e-tests/vm/config.sh.template
+++ b/e2e-tests/vm/config.sh.template
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 # Provisioning configuration file for authd end-to-end tests
 # Copy this template to config.sh and customize the values for your environment.
 
-export SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE="${HOME}/.ssh/id_rsa.pub"
 export VM_NAME_BASE=e2e-runner
 export RELEASE=questing
 export BROKERS=authd-msentraid,authd-google
diff --git a/e2e-tests/vm/provision-ubuntu.sh b/e2e-tests/vm/provision-ubuntu.sh
index dddf32d723..1321d3c8e4 100755
--- a/e2e-tests/vm/provision-ubuntu.sh
+++ b/e2e-tests/vm/provision-ubuntu.sh
@@ -71,18 +71,7 @@ fi
 # shellcheck source=lib/libprovision.sh
 source "${LIB_DIR}/libprovision.sh"
 
-assert_env_vars RELEASE VM_NAME_BASE SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE
-
-# Validate SSH public key file
-if [ ! -f "${SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE}" ]; then
-    echo "SSH public key file not found: ${SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE}"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-if [[ "${SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE}" != *.pub ]]; then
-    echo "SSH public key file must have a .pub extension"
-    exit 1
-fi
+assert_env_vars RELEASE VM_NAME_BASE
 
 # Cache sudo password early
 sudo -v
@@ -163,7 +152,7 @@ if [ ! -f "${CLOUD_INIT_ISO}" ]; then
         SOCAT_ADDRESS="TCP-LISTEN:55000,bind=0.0.0.0,reuseaddr"
     fi
 
-    SSH_PUBLIC_KEY=$(cat "${SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE}") \
+    env \
       SOCAT_ADDRESS="${SOCAT_ADDRESS}" \
       envsubst < "${CLOUD_INIT_TEMPLATE}" > "${CLOUD_INIT_DIR}/user-data"
 
diff --git a/e2e-tests/vm/ssh.sh b/e2e-tests/vm/ssh.sh
index 679ed0d285..0e7429f103 100755
--- a/e2e-tests/vm/ssh.sh
+++ b/e2e-tests/vm/ssh.sh
@@ -4,20 +4,19 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 usage(){
     cat << EOF
+Usage: $0 --release <release> [ssh options]
 
-    Usage: $0 --release <release> [ssh options]
+SSH into the e2e-test VM for the specified Ubuntu release.
 
-    SSH into the e2e-test VM for the specified Ubuntu release.
-
-    Example:
-      $0 --release questing
+Example:
+    $0 --release questing
 EOF
 }
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
     case $1 in
         -h|--help)
-            print_usage
+            usage
             exit 0
             ;;
         --release|-r)