diff --git a/src/bin/zmsshkeygen b/src/bin/zmsshkeygen
index edf401206..b6ff55f18 100755
--- a/src/bin/zmsshkeygen
+++ b/src/bin/zmsshkeygen
@@ -48,10 +48,10 @@ ssh-keygen -f ${keyfile} -b 2048 -N '' \
 	-t ${keytype} -C ${zimbra_server_hostname}
 
 # Starting with OpenSSH 7.8 by default, the key is created with the OpenSSH private key format instead of the OpenSSL PEM format.
-# Check the format of KEY, and create KEY in OpenSSL PEM format.
+# Check the format of KEY and convert to OpenSSL PEM format.
 grep "BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY" ${keyfile} > /dev/null 2>&1
   if [ $? = 0 ]; then
-     ssh-keygen -m PEM -f ${keyfile}  -b 2048 -N '' \ -t ${keytype} -C ${zimbra_server_hostname}
+     ssh-keygen -p -m PEM -f ${keyfile}  -b 2048 -N '' -t ${keytype} -C ${zimbra_server_hostname}
   fi
 pubkey=`cat ${keyfile}.pub`