diff --git a/netboot.sh b/netboot.sh
index f77058c..dd5b3b4 100644
--- a/netboot.sh
+++ b/netboot.sh
@@ -329,7 +329,9 @@ if [ "$skip_account_setup" != true ]; then
 EOF
 
     if [ "$username" = root ]; then
-        _late_command 'sed -ri "s/^#?PermitRootLogin .+/PermitRootLogin yes/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config'
+        if [ -z "$authorized_keys_url" ]; then
+            _late_command 'sed -ri "s/^#?PermitRootLogin .+/PermitRootLogin yes/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config'
+        fi
         $save_preseed << EOF
 d-i passwd/root-login boolean true
 d-i passwd/make-user boolean false