Azure Virtual Machine (Linux) does not authenticate using SSH keys misconfiguration detected in code

Rule Details

Cortex AppSec Rule ID	APPSEC_AZURE_1
Category - Subcategory	Public Exposure - Encryption And Protocols
Provider	AZURE
Severity	LOW
Framework	ARM, Bicep, Terraform, Terraform Plan
Mapped CSPM/KSPM Rule	ff4fcb80-03f6-41dd-8bd8-6179fd46b3a4

Impact

SSH is an encrypted connection protocol that allows secure sign-ins over unsecured connections. SSH is the default connection protocol for Linux VMs hosted in Azure. Using secure shell (SSH) key pairs, it is possible to spin up a Linux virtual machine on Azure that defaults to using SSH keys for authentication, eliminating the need for passwords to sign in. We recommend connecting to a VM using SSH keys. Using basic authentication with SSH connections leaves VMs vulnerable to brute-force attacks or guessing of passwords.

How to Fix

Resource: Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines

• Arguments: disablePasswordAuthentication [source,go]

---

... "linuxConfiguration": {

•   "disablePasswordAuthentication": "true",
    "ssh": {
      "publicKeys": [
        {
          "path": "string",
          "keyData": "string"
        }
      ]

...