diff --git a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/TableUtils.pm b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/TableUtils.pm
index 0a2d9adab..daacc6e28 100644
--- a/perl-xCAT/xCAT/TableUtils.pm
+++ b/perl-xCAT/xCAT/TableUtils.pm
@@ -376,6 +376,7 @@ fi
 mkdir -p \$dest_dir
 cat /tmp/$to_userid/.ssh/authorized_keys >> \$home/.ssh/authorized_keys 2>&1
 cat /tmp/$to_userid/.ssh/id_rsa.pub >> \$home/.ssh/authorized_keys 2>&1
+rm -f \$home/.ssh/id_rsa 2>&1
 cp /tmp/$to_userid/.ssh/id_rsa  \$home/.ssh/id_rsa 2>&1
 cp /tmp/$to_userid/.ssh/id_rsa.pub  \$home/.ssh/id_rsa.pub 2>&1
 chmod 0600 \$home/.ssh/id_* 2>&1