> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/appsec-rules/iac-security/public-exposure/appsec-gcp-32.md).

# GCP VM instances do have block project-wide SSH keys feature disabled misconfiguration detected in c

## Rule Details

|                        |                                    |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Cortex AppSec Rule ID  | APPSEC\_GCP\_32                    |
| Category - Subcategory | Public Exposure - Admin Interfaces |
| Provider               | GCP                                |
| Severity               | HIGH                               |
| Framework              | Terraform, Terraform Plan          |

## Impact

Project-wide SSH keys are stored in Compute/Project-meta-data. Project wide SSH keys can be used to login into all instances within a project. Using project-wide SSH keys eases SSH key management. If SSH keys are compromised, the potential security risk can impact all instances within a project. We recommend you use Instance specific SSH keys instead of common/shared project-wide SSH key(s), to limit the attack surface should the SSH keys be compromised.

## How to Fix

*Resource:* google\_compute\_instance

* *Field:* metadata
* *Arguments:* block-project-ssh-keys \[source,go]

***

resource "google\_compute\_instance" "default" { name = "test" machine\_type = "n1-standard-1" zone = "us-central1-a" metadata = {

* block-project-ssh-keys = true } }

***


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