diff --git a/release/tools/basic-cloudinit.conf b/release/tools/basic-cloudinit.conf
index 2879f706a8de..7088c0a5f72a 100644
--- a/release/tools/basic-cloudinit.conf
+++ b/release/tools/basic-cloudinit.conf
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ vm_extra_pre_umount() {
 	cat << EOF >> ${DESTDIR}/etc/rc.conf
 dumpdev="AUTO"
 ifconfig_DEFAULT="SYNCDHCP accept_rtadv"
-sshd_enable="YES"
 # RSA host keys are obsolete and also very slow to generate
 sshd_rsa_enable="NO"
 EOF