argo-cd: SSH connections to github.com stopped working with host key mismatch

Describe the bug

On Nov. 16th, GitHub.com has made changes to their SSH endpoint that prevents Argo CD to connect to github.com repositories when using the SSH protocol. More details can be found here: https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/githubs-ssh-key-fingerprints

The error message observed is:

rpc error: code = Unknown desc = ssh: handshake failed: knownhosts: key mismatch

Determining the root cause is still under progress, but we believe it’s a combination of GitHub.com changing the host key algorithm preference to ECDSA or Ed25519 and Argo CD not shipping the appropriate keys, which leads to our SSH implementation refusing to continue. Argo CD does not, nor did, use DSA as the protocol for validating SSH host keys.

Workaround

As a workaround, you need to import the new ECDSA and Ed25519 keys into Argo CD’s SSH known hosts configuration.

First, get the new host keys using ssh-keyscan, which is part of OpenSSH’s client package:

$ ssh-keyscan github.com
# github.com:22 SSH-2.0-babeld-a73e1397
github.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==
# github.com:22 SSH-2.0-babeld-a73e1397
github.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBEmKSENjQEezOmxkZMy7opKgwFB9nkt5YRrYMjNuG5N87uRgg6CLrbo5wAdT/y6v0mKV0U2w0WZ2YB/++Tpockg=
# github.com:22 SSH-2.0-babeld-a73e1397
github.com ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIOMqqnkVzrm0SdG6UOoqKLsabgH5C9okWi0dh2l9GKJl

Then, run argocd cert add-ssh --batch and paste the keys to the terminal when asked to do so. Alternatively, you can use the UI or declarative setup for adding the new keys. Please refer to the documentation for more details.

Important Make sure to verify the fingerprints of the keys to match the fingerprints on https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/githubs-ssh-key-fingerprints - Argo CD helps you to view the fingerprints using the argocd cert list command.

A fix for adding the new keys to Argo CD is being worked on here: #7722

Update Nov 18 2022

Argo CD v2.1.7 has been released with updated manifests containing the new host keys in the argocd-known-hosts-cm ConfigMap. Please note that it is not sufficient to update your image tags to the new version, since the host keys are stored in a ConfigMap and are not part of the container image. You need to apply v2.1.7 manifests when upgrading.

About this issue

Original URL
State: closed
Created 3 years ago
Reactions: 87
Comments: 20 (4 by maintainers)

Most upvoted comments

I had to fix this earlier today, so wanted to share.

Remediation Steps

1. Create a file named `argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm.yaml` with the following contents:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap

metadata:
  name: argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm

data:
  ssh_known_hosts: |
    bitbucket.org ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAubiN81eDcafrgMeLzaFPsw2kNvEcqTKl/VqLat/MaB33pZy0y3rJZtnqwR2qOOvbwKZYKiEO1O6VqNEBxKvJJelCq0dTXWT5pbO2gDXC6h6QDXCaHo6pOHGPUy+YBaGQRGuSusMEASYiWunYN0vCAI8QaXnWMXNMdFP3jHAJH0eDsoiGnLPBlBp4TNm6rYI74nMzgz3B9IikW4WVK+dc8KZJZWYjAuORU3jc1c/NPskD2ASinf8v3xnfXeukU0sJ5N6m5E8VLjObPEO+mN2t/FZTMZLiFqPWc/ALSqnMnnhwrNi2rbfg/rd/IpL8Le3pSBne8+seeFVBoGqzHM9yXw==
    github.com ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIOMqqnkVzrm0SdG6UOoqKLsabgH5C9okWi0dh2l9GKJl
    github.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==
    github.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBEmKSENjQEezOmxkZMy7opKgwFB9nkt5YRrYMjNuG5N87uRgg6CLrbo5wAdT/y6v0mKV0U2w0WZ2YB/++Tpockg=
    gitlab.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBFSMqzJeV9rUzU4kWitGjeR4PWSa29SPqJ1fVkhtj3Hw9xjLVXVYrU9QlYWrOLXBpQ6KWjbjTDTdDkoohFzgbEY=
    gitlab.com ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAfuCHKVTjquxvt6CM6tdG4SLp1Btn/nOeHHE5UOzRdf
    gitlab.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCsj2bNKTBSpIYDEGk9KxsGh3mySTRgMtXL583qmBpzeQ+jqCMRgBqB98u3z++J1sKlXHWfM9dyhSevkMwSbhoR8XIq/U0tCNyokEi/ueaBMCvbcTHhO7FcwzY92WK4Yt0aGROY5qX2UKSeOvuP4D6TPqKF1onrSzH9bx9XUf2lEdWT/ia1NEKjunUqu1xOB/StKDHMoX4/OKyIzuS0q/T1zOATthvasJFoPrAjkohTyaDUz2LN5JoH839hViyEG82yB+MjcFV5MU3N1l1QL3cVUCh93xSaua1N85qivl+siMkPGbO5xR/En4iEY6K2XPASUEMaieWVNTRCtJ4S8H+9
    ssh.dev.azure.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC7Hr1oTWqNqOlzGJOfGJ4NakVyIzf1rXYd4d7wo6jBlkLvCA4odBlL0mDUyZ0/QUfTTqeu+tm22gOsv+VrVTMk6vwRU75gY/y9ut5Mb3bR5BV58dKXyq9A9UeB5Cakehn5Zgm6x1mKoVyf+FFn26iYqXJRgzIZZcZ5V6hrE0Qg39kZm4az48o0AUbf6Sp4SLdvnuMa2sVNwHBboS7EJkm57XQPVU3/QpyNLHbWDdzwtrlS+ez30S3AdYhLKEOxAG8weOnyrtLJAUen9mTkol8oII1edf7mWWbWVf0nBmly21+nZcmCTISQBtdcyPaEno7fFQMDD26/s0lfKob4Kw8H
    vs-ssh.visualstudio.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC7Hr1oTWqNqOlzGJOfGJ4NakVyIzf1rXYd4d7wo6jBlkLvCA4odBlL0mDUyZ0/QUfTTqeu+tm22gOsv+VrVTMk6vwRU75gY/y9ut5Mb3bR5BV58dKXyq9A9UeB5Cakehn5Zgm6x1mKoVyf+FFn26iYqXJRgzIZZcZ5V6hrE0Qg39kZm4az48o0AUbf6Sp4SLdvnuMa2sVNwHBboS7EJkm57XQPVU3/QpyNLHbWDdzwtrlS+ez30S3AdYhLKEOxAG8weOnyrtLJAUen9mTkol8oII1edf7mWWbWVf0nBmly21+nZcmCTISQBtdcyPaEno7fFQMDD26/s0lfKob4Kw8H

⚠️ You might need to edit labels/annotations to match your existing configmap.

2. Apply the `argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm.yaml` file:

$ kubectl apply --file argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm.yaml
configmap/argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm configured

⚠️ Make sure you are targeting the correct context and namespace

3. Restart the `argocd-repo-server` pods:

$ kubectl delete pod --selector app.kubernetes.io/name=argocd-repo-server

Afterwards, things in the ArgoCD UI should update, and any “unknown” applications should sort themselves out. Cheers!

+54

joshdk on Nov 16, 2021

Rather than “adding the new keys” to argoCD how about implementing an actual ssh handshake process and flow?

Its Open Source, feel free to contribute. Kudos to the ArgoCD team for all great work and for a fix.

+11

josandstrom on Nov 17, 2021

Thanks for this fix.

~~I don’t know who is in charge of argo-helm ; but this fix is to propagate here too https://github.com/argoproj/argo-helm/blob/master/charts/argo-cd/values.yaml#L1485~~

Edit: Fix is propagated : https://github.com/argoproj/argo-helm/commit/27aa2a9ad02cd29de35f8130bea592f2723d745a

Cicatrice on Nov 17, 2021

Here’s the Kustomize code.

The overlay file:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm
data:
  ssh_known_hosts: |
    bitbucket.org ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAubiN81eDcafrgMeLzaFPsw2kNvEcqTKl/VqLat/MaB33pZy0y3rJZtnqwR2qOOvbwKZYKiEO1O6VqNEBxKvJJelCq0dTXWT5pbO2gDXC6h6QDXCaHo6pOHGPUy+YBaGQRGuSusMEASYiWunYN0vCAI8QaXnWMXNMdFP3jHAJH0eDsoiGnLPBlBp4TNm6rYI74nMzgz3B9IikW4WVK+dc8KZJZWYjAuORU3jc1c/NPskD2ASinf8v3xnfXeukU0sJ5N6m5E8VLjObPEO+mN2t/FZTMZLiFqPWc/ALSqnMnnhwrNi2rbfg/rd/IpL8Le3pSBne8+seeFVBoGqzHM9yXw==
    github.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBEmKSENjQEezOmxkZMy7opKgwFB9nkt5YRrYMjNuG5N87uRgg6CLrbo5wAdT/y6v0mKV0U2w0WZ2YB/++Tpockg=
    github.com ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIOMqqnkVzrm0SdG6UOoqKLsabgH5C9okWi0dh2l9GKJl
    github.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==
    gitlab.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBFSMqzJeV9rUzU4kWitGjeR4PWSa29SPqJ1fVkhtj3Hw9xjLVXVYrU9QlYWrOLXBpQ6KWjbjTDTdDkoohFzgbEY=
    gitlab.com ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAfuCHKVTjquxvt6CM6tdG4SLp1Btn/nOeHHE5UOzRdf
    gitlab.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCsj2bNKTBSpIYDEGk9KxsGh3mySTRgMtXL583qmBpzeQ+jqCMRgBqB98u3z++J1sKlXHWfM9dyhSevkMwSbhoR8XIq/U0tCNyokEi/ueaBMCvbcTHhO7FcwzY92WK4Yt0aGROY5qX2UKSeOvuP4D6TPqKF1onrSzH9bx9XUf2lEdWT/ia1NEKjunUqu1xOB/StKDHMoX4/OKyIzuS0q/T1zOATthvasJFoPrAjkohTyaDUz2LN5JoH839hViyEG82yB+MjcFV5MU3N1l1QL3cVUCh93xSaua1N85qivl+siMkPGbO5xR/En4iEY6K2XPASUEMaieWVNTRCtJ4S8H+9
    ssh.dev.azure.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC7Hr1oTWqNqOlzGJOfGJ4NakVyIzf1rXYd4d7wo6jBlkLvCA4odBlL0mDUyZ0/QUfTTqeu+tm22gOsv+VrVTMk6vwRU75gY/y9ut5Mb3bR5BV58dKXyq9A9UeB5Cakehn5Zgm6x1mKoVyf+FFn26iYqXJRgzIZZcZ5V6hrE0Qg39kZm4az48o0AUbf6Sp4SLdvnuMa2sVNwHBboS7EJkm57XQPVU3/QpyNLHbWDdzwtrlS+ez30S3AdYhLKEOxAG8weOnyrtLJAUen9mTkol8oII1edf7mWWbWVf0nBmly21+nZcmCTISQBtdcyPaEno7fFQMDD26/s0lfKob4Kw8H
    vs-ssh.visualstudio.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC7Hr1oTWqNqOlzGJOfGJ4NakVyIzf1rXYd4d7wo6jBlkLvCA4odBlL0mDUyZ0/QUfTTqeu+tm22gOsv+VrVTMk6vwRU75gY/y9ut5Mb3bR5BV58dKXyq9A9UeB5Cakehn5Zgm6x1mKoVyf+FFn26iYqXJRgzIZZcZ5V6hrE0Qg39kZm4az48o0AUbf6Sp4SLdvnuMa2sVNwHBboS7EJkm57XQPVU3/QpyNLHbWDdzwtrlS+ez30S3AdYhLKEOxAG8weOnyrtLJAUen9mTkol8oII1edf7mWWbWVf0nBmly21+nZcmCTISQBtdcyPaEno7fFQMDD26/s0lfKob4Kw8H

The kustomize.yaml to use the overlay (change filename/path and namespace as needed):

apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

namespace: argocd
patchesStrategicMerge:
- overlays/argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm.yaml

eytanhanig on Nov 16, 2021

@jannfis thanks for pining this and getting the information out so quickly. I also appreciate that Argo has done 99% of the administration work that we as users are ultimately responsible for here in maintaining our own installations, and that there is an easy workaround.

iamnoah on Nov 16, 2021

Rather than “adding the new keys” to argoCD how about implementing an actual ssh handshake process and flow?

paul-civitas on Nov 16, 2021

@eytanhanig another great way is to use a configMapGenerator.

Create a file named ssh_known_hosts with the following contents:

bitbucket.org ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAubiN81eDcafrgMeLzaFPsw2kNvEcqTKl/VqLat/MaB33pZy0y3rJZtnqwR2qOOvbwKZYKiEO1O6VqNEBxKvJJelCq0dTXWT5pbO2gDXC6h6QDXCaHo6pOHGPUy+YBaGQRGuSusMEASYiWunYN0vCAI8QaXnWMXNMdFP3jHAJH0eDsoiGnLPBlBp4TNm6rYI74nMzgz3B9IikW4WVK+dc8KZJZWYjAuORU3jc1c/NPskD2ASinf8v3xnfXeukU0sJ5N6m5E8VLjObPEO+mN2t/FZTMZLiFqPWc/ALSqnMnnhwrNi2rbfg/rd/IpL8Le3pSBne8+seeFVBoGqzHM9yXw==
github.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBEmKSENjQEezOmxkZMy7opKgwFB9nkt5YRrYMjNuG5N87uRgg6CLrbo5wAdT/y6v0mKV0U2w0WZ2YB/++Tpockg=
github.com ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIOMqqnkVzrm0SdG6UOoqKLsabgH5C9okWi0dh2l9GKJl
github.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7hRGmdnm9tUDbO9IDSwBK6TbQa+PXYPCPy6rbTrTtw7PHkccKrpp0yVhp5HdEIcKr6pLlVDBfOLX9QUsyCOV0wzfjIJNlGEYsdlLJizHhbn2mUjvSAHQqZETYP81eFzLQNnPHt4EVVUh7VfDESU84KezmD5QlWpXLmvU31/yMf+Se8xhHTvKSCZIFImWwoG6mbUoWf9nzpIoaSjB+weqqUUmpaaasXVal72J+UX2B+2RPW3RcT0eOzQgqlJL3RKrTJvdsjE3JEAvGq3lGHSZXy28G3skua2SmVi/w4yCE6gbODqnTWlg7+wC604ydGXA8VJiS5ap43JXiUFFAaQ==
gitlab.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBFSMqzJeV9rUzU4kWitGjeR4PWSa29SPqJ1fVkhtj3Hw9xjLVXVYrU9QlYWrOLXBpQ6KWjbjTDTdDkoohFzgbEY=
gitlab.com ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIAfuCHKVTjquxvt6CM6tdG4SLp1Btn/nOeHHE5UOzRdf
gitlab.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCsj2bNKTBSpIYDEGk9KxsGh3mySTRgMtXL583qmBpzeQ+jqCMRgBqB98u3z++J1sKlXHWfM9dyhSevkMwSbhoR8XIq/U0tCNyokEi/ueaBMCvbcTHhO7FcwzY92WK4Yt0aGROY5qX2UKSeOvuP4D6TPqKF1onrSzH9bx9XUf2lEdWT/ia1NEKjunUqu1xOB/StKDHMoX4/OKyIzuS0q/T1zOATthvasJFoPrAjkohTyaDUz2LN5JoH839hViyEG82yB+MjcFV5MU3N1l1QL3cVUCh93xSaua1N85qivl+siMkPGbO5xR/En4iEY6K2XPASUEMaieWVNTRCtJ4S8H+9
ssh.dev.azure.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC7Hr1oTWqNqOlzGJOfGJ4NakVyIzf1rXYd4d7wo6jBlkLvCA4odBlL0mDUyZ0/QUfTTqeu+tm22gOsv+VrVTMk6vwRU75gY/y9ut5Mb3bR5BV58dKXyq9A9UeB5Cakehn5Zgm6x1mKoVyf+FFn26iYqXJRgzIZZcZ5V6hrE0Qg39kZm4az48o0AUbf6Sp4SLdvnuMa2sVNwHBboS7EJkm57XQPVU3/QpyNLHbWDdzwtrlS+ez30S3AdYhLKEOxAG8weOnyrtLJAUen9mTkol8oII1edf7mWWbWVf0nBmly21+nZcmCTISQBtdcyPaEno7fFQMDD26/s0lfKob4Kw8H
vs-ssh.visualstudio.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC7Hr1oTWqNqOlzGJOfGJ4NakVyIzf1rXYd4d7wo6jBlkLvCA4odBlL0mDUyZ0/QUfTTqeu+tm22gOsv+VrVTMk6vwRU75gY/y9ut5Mb3bR5BV58dKXyq9A9UeB5Cakehn5Zgm6x1mKoVyf+FFn26iYqXJRgzIZZcZ5V6hrE0Qg39kZm4az48o0AUbf6Sp4SLdvnuMa2sVNwHBboS7EJkm57XQPVU3/QpyNLHbWDdzwtrlS+ez30S3AdYhLKEOxAG8weOnyrtLJAUen9mTkol8oII1edf7mWWbWVf0nBmly21+nZcmCTISQBtdcyPaEno7fFQMDD26/s0lfKob4Kw8H

Then, reference it from a (existing) kustomization.yaml file:

apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

# Existing resources, patches, etc

configMapGenerator:
  - name: argocd-ssh-known-hosts-cm
    behavior: replace
    files:
      - ssh_known_hosts

joshdk on Nov 17, 2021

Already logged here: https://github.com/argoproj/argo-helm/issues/1019 And fixed here: https://github.com/argoproj/argo-helm/issues/1018 😄

idrissneumann on Nov 17, 2021

Distressing that argoCD hardcoded in a DSA verification key like that.

paul-civitas on Nov 16, 2021

first of all thx for flagging this!

… but kind of lost on this one:

added ssh-ed25519 to known hosts for github.com
restarted repo server
argocd repocreds add git@github.com:xx/ --ssh-private-key-path ~/.ssh/argocd works with an ssh-ed25519 key.
argocd repo add git@github.com:xx/xx-config --ssh-private-key-path ~/.ssh/argocd fails with the handshake error

EDIT: needed to add github.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBEmKSENjQEezOmxkZMy7opKgwFB9nkt5YRrYMjNuG5N87uRgg6CLrbo5wAdT/y6v0mKV0U2w0WZ2YB/++Tpockg= as well

tech4242 on Nov 17, 2021