CVE-2002-0575 in OpenSSH
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in OpenSSH before 2.9.9, and 3.x before 3.2.1, with Kerberos/AFS support and KerberosTgtPassing or AFSTokenPassing enabled, allows remote and local authenticated users to gain privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/15/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-0575 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within OpenSSH implementations that affected versions prior to 2.9.9 and 3.2.1. This issue specifically manifests when Kerberos or AFS authentication support is enabled along with KerberosTgtPassing or AFSTokenPassing functionality. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and memory management within the authentication processing pipeline, creating exploitable conditions that can be leveraged by authenticated users to escalate privileges. The vulnerability exists in the handling of authentication tokens and ticket-granting tickets that are passed between the client and server components during the authentication process.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow occurs when the OpenSSH daemon processes authentication requests containing specially crafted Kerberos or AFS tokens. When these authentication mechanisms are enabled and the specific token passing features are activated, the system fails to properly validate the length of incoming token data before copying it into fixed-size buffers. This allows an authenticated user to provide token data exceeding the allocated buffer space, resulting in memory corruption that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability affects both remote and local authenticated users, expanding the potential attack surface significantly. According to CWE standards, this corresponds to CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, while the ATT&CK framework would categorize this under privilege escalation techniques using software vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it provides attackers with a path to privilege escalation within systems relying on OpenSSH with Kerberos or AFS integration. An authenticated user who can successfully exploit this vulnerability gains the ability to execute code with the privileges of the sshd process, typically running as root or with elevated system permissions. This creates a significant risk for systems where OpenSSH serves as the primary remote access mechanism, particularly in enterprise environments where Kerberos or AFS authentication is commonly deployed. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires only authenticated access to exploit, meaning that any user with legitimate credentials can potentially leverage this flaw. Organizations using affected versions of OpenSSH with Kerberos or AFS support face a critical security risk that could lead to complete system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive data and resources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-0575 primarily involve upgrading to patched versions of OpenSSH, specifically versions 2.9.9 or 3.2.1 and later, which contain the necessary fixes for the buffer overflow conditions. System administrators should immediately apply the vendor-provided security patches and verify that the updated OpenSSH installations have been properly configured without enabling the vulnerable KerberosTgtPassing or AFSTokenPassing features unless absolutely required. Additionally, organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit the exposure of OpenSSH services, particularly those with Kerberos or AFS integration. Monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns and implementing intrusion detection systems can help identify potential exploitation attempts. The fix implemented by OpenSSH developers typically involves adding proper input length validation and using safe memory management functions to prevent buffer overflows in the token processing code. Security teams should also consider disabling Kerberos and AFS support entirely if these features are not essential for their operations, as this eliminates the attack surface entirely.