diff --git a/docs/reference/resources/Microsoft/OpenSSH/SSHD/sshd_config/index.md b/docs/reference/resources/Microsoft/OpenSSH/SSHD/sshd_config/index.md
index 99752baa7..092c67141 100644
--- a/docs/reference/resources/Microsoft/OpenSSH/SSHD/sshd_config/index.md
+++ b/docs/reference/resources/Microsoft/OpenSSH/SSHD/sshd_config/index.md
@@ -56,11 +56,33 @@ configuration settings stored in the `sshd_config` file. The resource can:
 - The resource requires OpenSSH server to be installed on the system.
 - The resource must run in a process context that has permissions to read and write the `sshd_config`
   file.
+- Configuration operations invoke `sshd -T`, which requires usable SSH server host keys. An elevated
+  process can still fail if those keys are missing or inaccessible.
 - On Windows, the default configuration file path is `%ProgramData%\ssh\sshd_config`.
 - On Linux, the default configuration file path is `/etc/ssh/sshd_config`.
 - To manage a configuration file in a non-default location, specify the
   [sshd_config_filepath](#sshd_config_filepath) property for the instance.
 
+### Troubleshooting configuration validation
+
+When `sshd -T` fails, the resource returns the original OpenSSH diagnostic. To inspect the failure
+directly, run `sshd -T` in the same process context. For a custom configuration, run
+`sshd -T -f <configuration-path>`.
+
+The message `sshd: no hostkeys available -- exiting` means that OpenSSH couldn't load a usable host
+key. Check the preceding diagnostics to distinguish missing keys from keys that can't be read.
+Elevation alone doesn't create missing host keys.
+
+On Windows, starting the installed `sshd` service initializes missing default host keys. If you need
+to initialize the keys without starting the service, an administrator can run `ssh-keygen -A` to
+generate missing default host keys. These are explicit setup actions; the resource doesn't generate
+keys or start the service. If the configuration specifies custom `HostKey` paths, check those paths
+instead.
+
+For `Permission denied` errors, check the permissions on the configuration file or host key named in
+the diagnostic and the identity running DSC. Don't replace existing host keys or relax their
+permissions as a general workaround.
+
 ## Capabilities
 
 The resource has the following capabilities:
diff --git a/resources/sshdconfig/locales/en-us.toml b/resources/sshdconfig/locales/en-us.toml
index ae79fb88f..8be555870 100644
--- a/resources/sshdconfig/locales/en-us.toml
+++ b/resources/sshdconfig/locales/en-us.toml
@@ -104,6 +104,5 @@ seededConfigFromDefault = "Seeded missing sshd_config from '%{source}' to '%{tar
 sshdConfigDefaultNotFound = "'%{path}' does not exist and no default source could be found. Checked: %{paths}. Start the sshd service to initialize it, then retry."
 sshdConfigNotFoundNonWindows = "'%{path}' does not exist. Start the sshd service to initialize it, then retry."
 sshdConfigReadFailed = "failed to read sshd_config at path: '%{path}'"
-sshdElevation = "elevated security context required"
 tempFileCreated = "temporary file created at: %{path}"
 tracingInitError = "Failed to initialize tracing"
diff --git a/resources/sshdconfig/src/util.rs b/resources/sshdconfig/src/util.rs
index dc83814a7..8dac8ce90 100644
--- a/resources/sshdconfig/src/util.rs
+++ b/resources/sshdconfig/src/util.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 use rust_i18n::t;
 use serde_json::{Map, Value};
-use std::{path::PathBuf, process::Command};
+use std::{path::PathBuf, process::{Command, Output}};
 use tracing::{debug, warn, Level};
 use tracing_subscriber::{EnvFilter, Layer, prelude::__tracing_subscriber_SubscriberExt};
 
@@ -194,6 +194,10 @@ pub fn invoke_sshd_config_validation(args: Option<SshdCommandArgs>) -> Result<St
     let output = command.output()
         .map_err(|e| SshdConfigError::CommandError(e.to_string()))?;
 
+    parse_sshd_output(output)
+}
+
+fn parse_sshd_output(output: Output) -> Result<String, SshdConfigError> {
     if output.status.success() {
         let stdout = String::from_utf8(output.stdout)
             .map_err(|e| SshdConfigError::CommandError(e.to_string()))?;
@@ -201,11 +205,6 @@ pub fn invoke_sshd_config_validation(args: Option<SshdCommandArgs>) -> Result<St
     } else {
         let stderr = String::from_utf8(output.stderr)
             .map_err(|e| SshdConfigError::CommandError(e.to_string()))?;
-        if stderr.contains("sshd: no hostkeys available") || stderr.contains("Permission denied") {
-            return Err(SshdConfigError::CommandError(
-                t!("util.sshdElevation").to_string()
-            ));
-        }
         Err(SshdConfigError::CommandError(stderr))
     }
 }
@@ -318,3 +317,45 @@ pub fn read_sshd_config(input: Option<PathBuf>) -> Result<String, SshdConfigErro
         Err(SshdConfigError::FileNotFound(filepath.display().to_string()))
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    use std::os::unix::process::ExitStatusExt;
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    use std::os::windows::process::ExitStatusExt;
+    use std::process::ExitStatus;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn preserves_sshd_failure_diagnostics() {
+        for stderr in [
+            "Unable to load host key: missing_key\nsshd: no hostkeys available -- exiting.\n",
+            "Unable to load host key: protected_key: Permission denied\n",
+            "sshd_config line 1: Bad configuration option: InvalidOption\n",
+        ] {
+            let output = Output {
+                status: ExitStatus::from_raw(1),
+                stdout: Vec::new(),
+                stderr: stderr.as_bytes().to_vec(),
+            };
+
+            match parse_sshd_output(output) {
+                Err(SshdConfigError::CommandError(message)) => assert_eq!(message, stderr),
+                result => panic!("Expected original sshd diagnostic, got {result:?}"),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn returns_sshd_stdout_on_success() {
+        let stdout = "port 22\npasswordauthentication yes\n";
+        let output = Output {
+            status: ExitStatus::from_raw(0),
+            stdout: stdout.as_bytes().to_vec(),
+            stderr: b"diagnostic on stderr\n".to_vec(),
+        };
+
+        assert_eq!(parse_sshd_output(output).unwrap(), stdout);
+    }
+}