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Does the server get the client's public key before or after the client has identified the server? I suspect it's after - which would imply that this is much les
by ambrop7 11y ago
Does the server get the client's public key before or after the client has identified the server? I suspect it's after - which would imply that this is much less harmful than it looks like, since by then you've already confirmed the identity of the server.
So if my assumption is correct (some quick googling for images of the ssh key exchange suggests it is), then the reason it "works" in this case is because people intentionally say "yes" when presented with the fingerprint, just to see what would happen. If you were ssh-ing to a server that you've used before, there is little to worry about because the ssh client first authenticates the server, and the server presumably needs to know who you are anyway.
- icebraining 11y agoThe server only gets the key after it has been identified; you can see that by using "ssh -v".
- taejo 11y agoIt should be safe to say "yes" to any fingerprint from any server you don't trust (as long as you don't send any sensitive information over the connection, or trust information coming from it). The risk is that you accept a fingerprint for a server you do trust, allowing some other server to steal that trust.