diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f7d0b7f..772ed6a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+## [2.18.0] - 2026-05-18
+- **BREAKING**: `SSHHostkeyVerifyHandler` now receives an OpenSSH-style `SHA256:<base64>` host key fingerprint instead of the previous raw MD5 digest, so host key pinning code must be updated accordingly [#162]. Thanks [@thyssentishman].
+
 ## [2.17.1] - 2026-04-12
 - Made `SSHPem.decode` accept CRLF (`\r\n`) line endings in addition to LF when parsing PEM content [#157]. Thanks [@gkc].
 
diff --git a/lib/src/ssh_transport.dart b/lib/src/ssh_transport.dart
index d66a245..815885e 100644
--- a/lib/src/ssh_transport.dart
+++ b/lib/src/ssh_transport.dart
@@ -31,12 +31,19 @@ typedef SSHPrintHandler = void Function(String?);
 
 /// Function called when host key is received.
 /// [type] is the type of the host key, For example 'ssh-rsa',
-/// [fingerprint] md5 fingerprint of the host key.
+/// [fingerprint] OpenSSH-style SHA256 fingerprint of the host key,
+/// UTF-8 encoded as `SHA256:<base64>`.
 typedef SSHHostkeyVerifyHandler = FutureOr<bool> Function(
   String type,
   Uint8List fingerprint,
 );
 
+Uint8List _hostkeyFingerprint(Uint8List hostkey) {
+  final fingerprint = SHA256Digest().process(hostkey);
+  final encoded = base64.encode(fingerprint).replaceAll('=', '');
+  return Uint8List.fromList(utf8.encode('SHA256:$encoded'));
+}
+
 typedef SSHTransportReadyHandler = void Function();
 
 typedef SSHPacketHandler = void Function(Uint8List payload);
@@ -1180,7 +1187,7 @@ class SSHTransport {
     _sessionId ??= exchangeHash;
     _sharedSecret = sharedSecret;
 
-    final fingerprint = MD5Digest().process(hostkey);
+    final fingerprint = _hostkeyFingerprint(hostkey);
 
     if (_hostkeyVerified) {
       _sendNewKeys();
diff --git a/pubspec.yaml b/pubspec.yaml
index b48b3a4..8b15ed9 100644
--- a/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/pubspec.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: dartssh2
-version: 2.17.1
+version: 2.18.0
 description: SSH and SFTP client written in pure Dart, aiming to be feature-rich as well as easy to use.
 homepage: https://github.com/TerminalStudio/dartssh2
 
diff --git a/test/src/ssh_transport_fingerprint_test.dart b/test/src/ssh_transport_fingerprint_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9415010
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/src/ssh_transport_fingerprint_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import 'dart:convert';
+import 'dart:mirrors';
+import 'dart:typed_data';
+
+import 'package:dartssh2/dartssh2.dart';
+import 'package:pointycastle/export.dart';
+import 'package:test/test.dart';
+
+void main() {
+  final transportLibrary = reflectClass(SSHTransport).owner as LibraryMirror;
+
+  Uint8List invokeFingerprint(Uint8List hostkey) {
+    final symbol =
+        MirrorSystem.getSymbol('_hostkeyFingerprint', transportLibrary);
+    return transportLibrary.invoke(symbol, [hostkey]).reflectee as Uint8List;
+  }
+
+  test('formats host key fingerprints using OpenSSH SHA256 style', () {
+    final hostkey =
+        Uint8List.fromList(List<int>.generate(32, (index) => index));
+
+    final fingerprint = utf8.decode(invokeFingerprint(hostkey));
+    final expectedDigest = SHA256Digest().process(hostkey);
+    final expected =
+        'SHA256:${base64.encode(expectedDigest).replaceAll('=', '')}';
+
+    expect(fingerprint, equals(expected));
+  });
+}