diff --git a/napalm_procurve/procurve.py b/napalm_procurve/procurve.py
index 43cd376..a44ee69 100644
--- a/napalm_procurve/procurve.py
+++ b/napalm_procurve/procurve.py
@@ -592,52 +592,37 @@ class ProcurveDriver(ConfigLifecycleMixin, SwitchDriver):
         return {"running": running, "startup": startup, "candidate": candidate}
 
     def _get_config_via_ssh(self) -> str:
-        """Retrieve running-config via OpenSSH subprocess (sshpass + ssh).
+        """Open a one-shot SSH session on port 22 to retrieve running-config.
 
-        paramiko is incompatible with Mocana SSH 6.3 on HP 2530 / YA firmware.
-        OpenSSH has better legacy algorithm support and connects where paramiko
-        fails.  Requires openssh-client + sshpass installed in the environment.
+        Used when the REST API does not expose the running-config endpoint
+        (e.g. HP 2530 / YA firmware).  Uses port 22 explicitly because
+        self.port is the REST API port (443) in API transport mode.
         """
-        import shutil
-        import subprocess
+        import paramiko
 
-        _TIMEOUT = 12
+        _TIMEOUT = 15
 
-        if not shutil.which("sshpass") or not shutil.which("ssh"):
-            logger.warning("sshpass/ssh not available — skipping SSH config fallback for %s", self.hostname)
-            return ""
-
-        cmd = [
-            "sshpass", "-p", self.password or "",
-            "ssh",
-            "-o", "StrictHostKeyChecking=no",
-            "-o", "UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null",
-            "-o", f"ConnectTimeout={_TIMEOUT}",
-            "-o", "BatchMode=no",
-            "-o", "KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group1-sha1,diffie-hellman-group14-sha1",
-            "-o", "HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa",
-            "-p", "22",  # always SSH port — self.port is the REST API port (443)
-            f"{self.username}@{self.hostname}",
-            "show running-config",
-        ]
         try:
-            result = subprocess.run(
-                cmd,
-                capture_output=True,
-                text=True,
-                timeout=_TIMEOUT + 3,
+            client = paramiko.SSHClient()
+            client.set_missing_host_key_policy(paramiko.AutoAddPolicy())
+            client.connect(
+                hostname=self.hostname,
+                port=22,  # always SSH — self.port is the REST API port
+                username=self.username,
+                password=self.password,
+                timeout=_TIMEOUT,
+                banner_timeout=_TIMEOUT,
+                auth_timeout=_TIMEOUT,
+                look_for_keys=False,
+                allow_agent=False,
             )
-            if result.returncode == 0 and result.stdout.strip():
-                return result.stdout
-            logger.warning(
-                "SSH config fallback (openssh) failed for %s: rc=%s err=%s",
-                self.hostname, result.returncode, result.stderr[:200],
-            )
-        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-            logger.warning("SSH config fallback timed out for %s", self.hostname)
+            _, stdout, _ = client.exec_command("show running-config", timeout=_TIMEOUT)
+            config = stdout.read().decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
+            client.close()
+            return config
         except Exception as exc:
             logger.warning("SSH config fallback failed for %s: %s", self.hostname, exc)
-        return ""
+            return ""
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # NAPALM: get_environment