diff --git a/library/system/authorized_key b/library/system/authorized_key
index 0f83547a7e7..e5cbb93017d 100644
--- a/library/system/authorized_key
+++ b/library/system/authorized_key
@@ -218,6 +218,7 @@ def parsekey(raw_key):
     # split key safely
     lex = shlex.shlex(raw_key)
     lex.quotes = ["'", '"']
+    lex.commenters = '' #keep comment hashes
     lex.whitespace_split = True
     key_parts = list(lex)