diff --git a/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/key.h b/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/key.h
index 1754deae..897555a3 100644
--- a/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/key.h
+++ b/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/key.h
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@
 
 #include "config.h"
 
+#include <guacamole/client.h>
+#include <libssh2.h>
+
 #include <openssl/ossl_typ.h>
 
 /**
@@ -166,5 +169,52 @@ void guac_common_ssh_key_free(guac_common_ssh_key* key);
 int guac_common_ssh_key_sign(guac_common_ssh_key* key, const char* data,
         int length, unsigned char* sig);
 
+/**
+ * Verifies the host key for the given hostname/port combination against
+ * one or more known_hosts entries.  The known_host entries can either be a
+ * single host_key, provided by the client, or a set of known_hosts entries
+ * provided in the /etc/guacamole/ssh_known_hosts file.  Failure to correctly
+ * load the known_hosts entries will result in a connection abort and a returned
+ * error code.  A return code of zero indiciates that either no known_hosts entries
+ * were provided, or that the verification succeeded (match).  Negative values
+ * indicate internal libssh2 error codes; positive values indicate a failure
+ * during verification of the host key against the known hosts.
+ *
+ * @param session
+ *     A pointer to the LIBSSH2_SESSION structure of the SSH connection already
+ *     in progress.
+ *
+ * @param client
+ *     The current guac_client instance for which the known_hosts checking is
+ *     being performed.
+ *
+ * @param host_key
+ *     The known host entry provided by the client.  If this is non-null and not
+ *     empty, it will be the only host key loaded and used for verification.  If
+ *     this is null or empty an attempt will be made to read the
+ *     /etc/guacamole/ssh_known_hosts file and load entries from it.
+ *
+ * @param hostname
+ *     The hostname or IP of the server that is being verified.
+ *
+ * @param port
+ *     The port number of the server being verified.
+ *
+ * @param remote_hostkey
+ *     The host key of the remote system being verified.
+ *
+ * @param remote_hostkey_len
+ *     The length of the remote host key being verified
+ *
+ * @return
+ *     The status of the known_hosts check.  This will be zero if no entries
+ *     are provided or if the match succeeds, negative to indicate internal
+ *     libssh2 errors, or positive to indicate failures during host key
+ *     checking.
+ */
+int guac_common_ssh_verify_host_key(LIBSSH2_SESSION* session, guac_client* client,
+        const char* host_key, const char* hostname, int port, const char* remote_hostkey,
+        const size_t remote_hostkey_len);
+
 #endif
 
diff --git a/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/ssh.h b/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/ssh.h
index 8026549d..672e7767 100644
--- a/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/ssh.h
+++ b/src/common-ssh/common-ssh/ssh.h
@@ -98,7 +98,8 @@ void guac_common_ssh_uninit();
  *     if the connection or authentication were not successful.
  */
 guac_common_ssh_session* guac_common_ssh_create_session(guac_client* client,
-        const char* hostname, const char* port, guac_common_ssh_user* user, int keepalive);
+        const char* hostname, const char* port, guac_common_ssh_user* user, int keepalive,
+        const char* host_key);
 
 /**
  * Disconnects and destroys the given SSH session, freeing all associated
diff --git a/src/common-ssh/key.c b/src/common-ssh/key.c
index a05d696d..f835e4cc 100644
--- a/src/common-ssh/key.c
+++ b/src/common-ssh/key.c
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
 
 guac_common_ssh_key* guac_common_ssh_key_alloc(char* data, int length,
         char* passphrase) {
@@ -245,3 +246,86 @@ int guac_common_ssh_key_sign(guac_common_ssh_key* key, const char* data,
 
 }
 
+int guac_common_ssh_verify_host_key(LIBSSH2_SESSION* session, guac_client* client,
+        const char* host_key, const char* hostname, int port, const char* remote_hostkey,
+        const size_t remote_hostkey_len) {
+
+    LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOSTS* ssh_known_hosts = libssh2_knownhost_init(session);
+    int known_hosts = 0;
+
+    /* Add host key provided from settings */
+    if (host_key && strcmp(host_key, "") != 0) {
+
+        known_hosts = libssh2_knownhost_readline(ssh_known_hosts, host_key, strlen(host_key),
+                LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_FILE_OPENSSH);
+
+        /* readline function returns 0 on success, so we increment to indicate a valid entry */
+        if (known_hosts == 0)
+            known_hosts++;
+
+    }
+
+    /* Otherwise, we look for a ssh_known_hosts file within GUACAMOLE_HOME and read that in. */
+    else {
+
+        const char *guac_known_hosts = "/etc/guacamole/ssh_known_hosts";
+        if (access(guac_known_hosts, F_OK) != -1)
+            known_hosts = libssh2_knownhost_readfile(ssh_known_hosts, guac_known_hosts, LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_FILE_OPENSSH);
+
+    }
+
+    /* If there's an error provided, abort connection and return that. */
+    if (known_hosts < 0) {
+
+        char* errmsg;
+        int errval = libssh2_session_last_error(session, &errmsg, NULL, 0);
+        guac_client_log(client, GUAC_LOG_ERROR,
+            "Error %d trying to load SSH host keys: %s", errval, errmsg);
+
+        libssh2_knownhost_free(ssh_known_hosts);
+        return known_hosts;
+
+    }
+
+    /* No host keys were loaded, so we bail out checking and continue the connection. */
+    else if (known_hosts == 0) {
+        guac_client_log(client, GUAC_LOG_WARNING,
+            "No known host keys provided, host identity will not be verified.");
+        libssh2_knownhost_free(ssh_known_hosts);
+        return known_hosts;
+    }
+
+
+    /* Check remote host key against known hosts */
+    int kh_check = libssh2_knownhost_checkp(ssh_known_hosts, hostname, port,
+                                            remote_hostkey, remote_hostkey_len,
+                                            LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_TYPE_PLAIN|
+                                            LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_KEYENC_RAW,
+                                            NULL);
+
+    /* Deal with the return of the host key check */
+    switch (kh_check) {
+        case LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_CHECK_MATCH:
+            guac_client_log(client, GUAC_LOG_DEBUG,
+                "Host key match found for %s", hostname);
+            break;
+        case LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_CHECK_NOTFOUND:
+            guac_client_log(client, GUAC_LOG_ERROR,
+                "Host key not found for %s.", hostname);
+            break;
+        case LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_CHECK_MISMATCH:
+            guac_client_log(client, GUAC_LOG_ERROR,
+                "Host key does not match known hosts entry for %s", hostname);
+            break;
+        case LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOST_CHECK_FAILURE:
+        default:
+            guac_client_log(client, GUAC_LOG_ERROR,
+                "Host %s could not be checked against known hosts.",
+                hostname);
+    }
+
+    /* Return the check value */
+    libssh2_knownhost_free(ssh_known_hosts);
+    return kh_check;
+
+}
diff --git a/src/common-ssh/ssh.c b/src/common-ssh/ssh.c
index 5ea6feab..9dde5111 100644
--- a/src/common-ssh/ssh.c
+++ b/src/common-ssh/ssh.c
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 #include <netdb.h>
 #include <netinet/in.h>
 #include <pthread.h>
+#include <pwd.h>
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
@@ -414,7 +415,8 @@ static int guac_common_ssh_authenticate(guac_common_ssh_session* common_session)
 }
 
 guac_common_ssh_session* guac_common_ssh_create_session(guac_client* client,
-        const char* hostname, const char* port, guac_common_ssh_user* user, int keepalive) {
+        const char* hostname, const char* port, guac_common_ssh_user* user, int keepalive,
+        const char* host_key) {
 
     int retval;
 
@@ -518,6 +520,42 @@ guac_common_ssh_session* guac_common_ssh_create_session(guac_client* client,
         return NULL;
     }
 
+    /* Get host key of remote system we're connecting to */
+    size_t remote_hostkey_len;
+    const char *remote_hostkey = libssh2_session_hostkey(session, &remote_hostkey_len, NULL);
+
+    /* Failure to retrieve a host key means we should abort */
+    if (!remote_hostkey) {
+        guac_client_abort(client, GUAC_PROTOCOL_STATUS_SERVER_ERROR,
+            "Failed to get host key for %s", hostname);
+        free(common_session);
+        close(fd);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    /* SSH known host key checking. */
+    int known_host_check = guac_common_ssh_verify_host_key(session, client, host_key,
+                                                           hostname, atoi(port), remote_hostkey,
+                                                           remote_hostkey_len);
+
+    /* Abort on any error codes */
+    if (known_host_check != 0) {
+        char* err_msg;
+        libssh2_session_last_error(session, &err_msg, NULL, 0);
+
+        if (known_host_check < 0)
+            guac_client_abort(client, GUAC_PROTOCOL_STATUS_SERVER_ERROR,
+                "Error occurred attempting to check host key: %s", err_msg);
+
+        if (known_host_check > 0)
+            guac_client_abort(client, GUAC_PROTOCOL_STATUS_SERVER_ERROR,
+                "Host key did not match any provided known host keys. %s", err_msg);
+
+        free(common_session);
+        close(fd);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
     /* Store basic session data */
     common_session->client = client;
     common_session->user = user;
@@ -560,4 +598,3 @@ void guac_common_ssh_destroy_session(guac_common_ssh_session* session) {
     free(session);
 
 }
-
diff --git a/src/protocols/rdp/rdp.c b/src/protocols/rdp/rdp.c
index 45082bb0..4d484320 100644
--- a/src/protocols/rdp/rdp.c
+++ b/src/protocols/rdp/rdp.c
@@ -974,7 +974,8 @@ void* guac_rdp_client_thread(void* data) {
         /* Attempt SSH connection */
         rdp_client->sftp_session =
             guac_common_ssh_create_session(client, settings->sftp_hostname,
-                    settings->sftp_port, rdp_client->sftp_user, settings->sftp_server_alive_interval);
+                    settings->sftp_port, rdp_client->sftp_user, settings->sftp_server_alive_interval,
+                    settings->sftp_host_key);
 
         /* Fail if SSH connection does not succeed */
         if (rdp_client->sftp_session == NULL) {
diff --git a/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.c b/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.c
index 35f7f202..e1358303 100644
--- a/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.c
+++ b/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.c
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ const char* GUAC_RDP_CLIENT_ARGS[] = {
 #ifdef ENABLE_COMMON_SSH
     "enable-sftp",
     "sftp-hostname",
+    "sftp-host-key",
     "sftp-port",
     "sftp-username",
     "sftp-password",
@@ -355,6 +356,11 @@ enum RDP_ARGS_IDX {
      */
     IDX_SFTP_HOSTNAME,
 
+    /**
+     * The public SSH host key of the SFTP server.  Optional.
+     */
+    IDX_SFTP_HOST_KEY,
+
     /**
      * The port of the SSH server to connect to for SFTP. If blank, the default
      * SSH port of "22" will be used.
@@ -822,6 +828,11 @@ guac_rdp_settings* guac_rdp_parse_args(guac_user* user,
         guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_RDP_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
                 IDX_SFTP_HOSTNAME, settings->hostname);
 
+    /* The public SSH host key. */
+    settings->sftp_host_key =
+        guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_RDP_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
+                IDX_SFTP_HOST_KEY, NULL);
+
     /* Port for SFTP connection */
     settings->sftp_port =
         guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_RDP_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
@@ -999,6 +1010,7 @@ void guac_rdp_settings_free(guac_rdp_settings* settings) {
     /* Free SFTP settings */
     free(settings->sftp_directory);
     free(settings->sftp_root_directory);
+    free(settings->sftp_host_key);
     free(settings->sftp_hostname);
     free(settings->sftp_passphrase);
     free(settings->sftp_password);
diff --git a/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.h b/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.h
index ad71ca06..4f3839e6 100644
--- a/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.h
+++ b/src/protocols/rdp/rdp_settings.h
@@ -342,6 +342,11 @@ typedef struct guac_rdp_settings {
      */
     char* sftp_hostname;
 
+    /**
+     * The public SSH host key.
+     */
+    char* sftp_host_key;
+
     /**
      * The port of the SSH server to connect to for SFTP.
      */
diff --git a/src/protocols/ssh/settings.c b/src/protocols/ssh/settings.c
index 2ce97903..7cfe404f 100644
--- a/src/protocols/ssh/settings.c
+++ b/src/protocols/ssh/settings.c
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 /* Client plugin arguments */
 const char* GUAC_SSH_CLIENT_ARGS[] = {
     "hostname",
+    "host-key",
     "port",
     "username",
     "password",
@@ -68,6 +69,11 @@ enum SSH_ARGS_IDX {
      */
     IDX_HOSTNAME,
 
+    /**
+     * The Base64-encoded public SSH host key.  Optional.
+     */
+    IDX_HOST_KEY,
+
     /**
      * The port to connect to. Optional.
      */
@@ -247,6 +253,10 @@ guac_ssh_settings* guac_ssh_parse_args(guac_user* user,
         guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_SSH_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
                 IDX_HOSTNAME, "");
 
+    settings->host_key =
+        guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_SSH_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
+                IDX_HOST_KEY, NULL);
+
     settings->username =
         guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_SSH_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
                 IDX_USERNAME, NULL);
@@ -384,6 +394,7 @@ void guac_ssh_settings_free(guac_ssh_settings* settings) {
 
     /* Free network connection information */
     free(settings->hostname);
+    free(settings->host_key);
     free(settings->port);
 
     /* Free credentials */
@@ -417,4 +428,3 @@ void guac_ssh_settings_free(guac_ssh_settings* settings) {
     free(settings);
 
 }
-
diff --git a/src/protocols/ssh/settings.h b/src/protocols/ssh/settings.h
index 393cfc0c..761239c7 100644
--- a/src/protocols/ssh/settings.h
+++ b/src/protocols/ssh/settings.h
@@ -70,6 +70,11 @@ typedef struct guac_ssh_settings {
      */
     char* hostname;
 
+    /**
+     * The public SSH host key.
+     */
+    char* host_key;
+
     /**
      * The port of the SSH server to connect to.
      */
diff --git a/src/protocols/ssh/ssh.c b/src/protocols/ssh/ssh.c
index a614f813..f98f2228 100644
--- a/src/protocols/ssh/ssh.c
+++ b/src/protocols/ssh/ssh.c
@@ -235,7 +235,8 @@ void* ssh_client_thread(void* data) {
 
     /* Open SSH session */
     ssh_client->session = guac_common_ssh_create_session(client,
-            settings->hostname, settings->port, ssh_client->user, settings->server_alive_interval);
+            settings->hostname, settings->port, ssh_client->user, settings->server_alive_interval,
+            settings->host_key);
     if (ssh_client->session == NULL) {
         /* Already aborted within guac_common_ssh_create_session() */
         return NULL;
@@ -275,7 +276,8 @@ void* ssh_client_thread(void* data) {
         guac_client_log(client, GUAC_LOG_DEBUG, "Reconnecting for SFTP...");
         ssh_client->sftp_session =
             guac_common_ssh_create_session(client, settings->hostname,
-                    settings->port, ssh_client->user, settings->server_alive_interval);
+                    settings->port, ssh_client->user, settings->server_alive_interval,
+                    settings->host_key);
         if (ssh_client->sftp_session == NULL) {
             /* Already aborted within guac_common_ssh_create_session() */
             return NULL;
diff --git a/src/protocols/vnc/settings.c b/src/protocols/vnc/settings.c
index 509921a5..587864a4 100644
--- a/src/protocols/vnc/settings.c
+++ b/src/protocols/vnc/settings.c
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ const char* GUAC_VNC_CLIENT_ARGS[] = {
 #ifdef ENABLE_COMMON_SSH
     "enable-sftp",
     "sftp-hostname",
+    "sftp-host-key",
     "sftp-port",
     "sftp-username",
     "sftp-password",
@@ -208,6 +209,11 @@ enum VNC_ARGS_IDX {
      */
     IDX_SFTP_USERNAME,
 
+    /**
+     * The public SSH host key to identify the SFTP server.
+     */
+    IDX_SFTP_HOST_KEY,
+
     /**
      * The password to provide when authenticating with the SSH server for
      * SFTP (if not using a private key).
@@ -411,6 +417,11 @@ guac_vnc_settings* guac_vnc_parse_args(guac_user* user,
         guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_VNC_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
                 IDX_SFTP_HOSTNAME, settings->hostname);
 
+    /* The public SSH host key. */
+    settings->sftp_host_key =
+        guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_VNC_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
+                IDX_SFTP_HOST_KEY, NULL);
+
     /* Port for SFTP connection */
     settings->sftp_port =
         guac_user_parse_args_string(user, GUAC_VNC_CLIENT_ARGS, argv,
@@ -504,6 +515,7 @@ void guac_vnc_settings_free(guac_vnc_settings* settings) {
     /* Free SFTP settings */
     free(settings->sftp_directory);
     free(settings->sftp_root_directory);
+    free(settings->sftp_host_key);
     free(settings->sftp_hostname);
     free(settings->sftp_passphrase);
     free(settings->sftp_password);
diff --git a/src/protocols/vnc/settings.h b/src/protocols/vnc/settings.h
index 85e6478c..3e2ebd5e 100644
--- a/src/protocols/vnc/settings.h
+++ b/src/protocols/vnc/settings.h
@@ -138,6 +138,11 @@ typedef struct guac_vnc_settings {
      */
     char* sftp_hostname;
 
+    /**
+     * The public SSH host key.
+     */
+    char* sftp_host_key;
+
     /**
      * The port of the SSH server to connect to for SFTP.
      */
diff --git a/src/protocols/vnc/vnc.c b/src/protocols/vnc/vnc.c
index db1e2180..d9f9dbbb 100644
--- a/src/protocols/vnc/vnc.c
+++ b/src/protocols/vnc/vnc.c
@@ -261,7 +261,8 @@ void* guac_vnc_client_thread(void* data) {
         /* Attempt SSH connection */
         vnc_client->sftp_session =
             guac_common_ssh_create_session(client, settings->sftp_hostname,
-                    settings->sftp_port, vnc_client->sftp_user, settings->sftp_server_alive_interval);
+                    settings->sftp_port, vnc_client->sftp_user, settings->sftp_server_alive_interval,
+                    settings->sftp_host_key);
 
         /* Fail if SSH connection does not succeed */
         if (vnc_client->sftp_session == NULL) {