CVE-2023-43631

SSH as Root Unlockable Without Triggering Measured Boot

HIGH
8.8
CVSS Score
Published: September 21, 2023 at 01:17 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:26 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsEdge Virtualization EngineEve

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Severity
HIGH8.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

On boot, the Pillar eve container checks for the existence and content of “/config/authorized_keys”. If the file is present, and contains a supported public key, the container will go on to open port 22 and enable sshd with the given keys as the authorized keys for root login. An attacker could easily add their own keys and gain full control over the system without triggering the “measured boot” mechanism implemented by EVE OS, and without marking the device as “UUD” (“Unknown Update Detected”). This is because the “/config” partition is not protected by “measured boot”, it is mutable, and it is not encrypted in any way. An attacker can gain full control over the device without changing the PCR values, thus not triggering the “measured boot” mechanism, and having full access to the vault. Note: This issue was partially fixed in these commits (after disclosure to Zededa), where the config partition measurement was added to PCR13: • aa3501d6c57206ced222c33aea15a9169d629141 • 5fef4d92e75838cc78010edaed5247dfbdae1889. This issue was made viable in version 9.0.0 when the calculation was moved to PCR14 but it was not included in the measured boot.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 8.6.09.0.0 ≤ v < 9.5.09.0.0
Affected range stops below 8.6.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 9.5.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 8.6.09.0.0 ≤ v < 9.5.09.0.0
Affected range stops below 8.6.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 9.5.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

8.8HIGHASRG
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-522CWE-922

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