# CVE-2023-37268: User login confusion with SSO in warpgate

> Attackers can authenticate as other users via SSO if second factor is disabled, compromising accounts in Warpgate bastion host.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jul 2023
- **Updated:** 18 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-868r-97g5-r9g4

## What is CVE-2023-37268?

CVE-2023-37268 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in warp-tech warpgate, published on 14 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Warpgate is an SSH, HTTPS and MySQL bastion host for Linux that doesn't need special client apps. When logging in as a user with SSO enabled an attacker may authenticate as an other user. Any user account which does not have a second factor enabled could be compromised. This issue has been addressed in commit `8173f6512a` and in releases starting with version 0.7.3. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should require their users to use a second factor in authentication.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-37268?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Warpgate Project Warpgate.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-37268?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-37268 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-37268 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-37268 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in warp-tech warpgate

- [CVE-2023-48712](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-48712/): User authorization bug leading to privilege escalation in warpgate (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2026-44347](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44347/): Warpgate: SSO CSRF -- State Token Not Validated on Return (medium 5.8)
- [CVE-2023-43660](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43660/): SSH key password bypassed in warpgate (medium 4.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-37268 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-37268 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in warp-tech warpgate, published on 14 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-37268 exists.

Affected product: warp-tech warpgate. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37268/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37268/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-37268
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-37268
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-37268

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37268/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.