GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Go
GHSA-g936-7jqj-mwv8 TSDProxy: Internal proxy auth token forwarded to backend services enables management API escalation
CRITICAL
Official page ↗
- Ecosystem
- Go
- Packages
- github.com/almeidapaulopt/tsdproxy
- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weaknesses
- CWE-200, CWE-287
- Reviewed
- 2026-07-10
Affected packages
• Go github.com/almeidapaulopt/tsdproxy: < 1.4.4-0.20260603142855-434819b4421e → fixed in 1.4.4-0.20260603142855-434819b4421e
Description
Description
A vulnerability was discovered in TSDProxy where it forwards its internal per-process authentication token to all proxied backend services. When `identityHeaders` is enabled (the default), tsdproxy injects `x-tsdproxy-auth-token` into every upstream HTTP request alongside user identity headers. This token is the same secret used by the management HTTP server to trust forwarded Tailscale identity claims. A backend that receives this token can replay it from localhost to the management port with an arbitrary `x-tsdproxy-id` value, bypassing Tailscale authentication entirely.
The token is forwarded unconditionally: `ProviderUserMiddleware` always calls `WhoisNewContext` regardless of whether the user is authenticated. In the `ReverseProxy.Rewrite` function, `WhoisFromContext` returns `ok=true` even for zero-value `Whois{}` (unauthenticated or Funnel requests). The `HeaderAuthToken` is set for every request when `identityHeaders=true`.
The attack requires the backend to reach `127.0.0.1:8080`. This holds in: (1) non-Docker deployments where tsdproxy and a backend run on the same host, (2) Docker host-network-mode containers, (3) containers sharing tsdproxy's network namespace.
Affected files
• `internal/proxymanager/port.go:123-132`
• `internal/core/admin.go:160-182`
```go
// port.go: auth token forwarded regardless of user authentication state
if identityHeaders {
if user, ok := model.WhoisFromContext(r.In.Context()); ok {
// ok=true even for empty Whois{} stored by ProviderUserMiddleware
r.Out.Header.Set(consts.HeaderAuthToken, core.ProxyAuthToken()) // token sent to backend
}
}
// admin.go: management port trusts x-tsdproxy-id from localhost when token is valid
func ResolveWhois(r *http.Request) model.Whois {
if IsLocalhost(r.RemoteAddr) {
return model.Whois{
ID: r.Header.Get(consts.HeaderID), // attacker-controlled after stealing token
}
}
return model.Whois{}
}
```
Steps to reproduce
1. Deploy tsdproxy on a host (non-Docker) with a backend at `http://localhost:3000`.
2. Make a request through the Tailscale proxy. The backend receives `x-tsdproxy-auth-token` in the request headers.
3. From the host, replay the token to the management API:
```bash
Capture token from backend headers (e.g., via a header-reflection endpoint)
TOKEN=$(curl -s http://localhost:3000/debug/headers | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['headers'].get('X-Tsdproxy-Auth-Token',''))")
Replay from localhost to gain admin access
curl -H "x-tsdproxy-auth-token: $TOKEN" \
-H "x-tsdproxy-id: attacker" \
http://127.0.0.1:8080/api/v1/proxies
Returns full proxy list with admin access
```
Fix
Remove `HeaderAuthToken` from the outgoing backend request, and guard identity-header injection on `user.ID != ""`:
```go
// port.go: only inject headers for actually authenticated users
if identityHeaders {
if user, ok := model.WhoisFromContext(r.In.Context()); ok && user.ID != "" {
r.Out.Header.Set(consts.HeaderID, user.ID)
// HeaderAuthToken should NOT be forwarded to backends
}
}
```
Impact
An attacker with code execution in any backend proxied by tsdproxy (on the same host) gains full management API control: restart or pause all proxied services (DoS), enumerate all proxy configurations and backend network topology, and trigger webhook deliveries (SSRF via configured webhook URLs).
Credits
Reported by Vishal Shukla (@shukla304 / @therawdev).
Sponsorship
This audit is from an AI-assisted research agent at sechub.dev. Running it on OSS projects is free for maintainers.