# CVE-2023-43660: SSH key password bypassed in warpgate

> Attackers can bypass SSH key authentication in Warpgate by sending unsigned key offers, requiring specific user configuration and knowledge of public keys.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 20 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3cjp-w4cp-m9c8

## What is CVE-2023-43660?

CVE-2023-43660 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in warp-tech warpgate, published on 27 Sep 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Warpgate is a smart SSH, HTTPS and MySQL bastion host for Linux that doesn't need special client apps. The SSH key verification for a user can be bypassed by sending an SSH key offer without a signature. This allows bypassing authentication under following conditions: 1. The attacker knows the username and a valid target name 2. The attacked knows the user's public key and 3. Only SSH public key authentication is required for the user account. This issue has been addressed in version 0.8.1. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-347 (Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature), CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-43660?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Warpgate Project Warpgate.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-43660?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-43660 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-43660 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-43660 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2023-37268](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37268/): User login confusion with SSO in warpgate (medium 6.4)
- [CVE-2026-44347](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44347/): Warpgate: SSO CSRF -- State Token Not Validated on Return (medium 5.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-43660 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-43660 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in warp-tech warpgate, published on 27 Sep 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-43660 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2023-43660/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43660/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-43660
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-43660
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-43660

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43660/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.