OpenSSH up to 8.3p1 scp scp.c destination os command injection ⚔ [Disputed]

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in OpenSSH up to 8.3p1. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file scp.c of the component scp. This manipulation of the argument destination as part of Backtick causes os command injection. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2020-15778. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit. The real existence of this vulnerability is still doubted at the moment. It is advised to disable the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in OpenSSH up to 8.3p1 (Connectivity Software). It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown processing of the file scp.c of the component scp. The manipulation of the argument destination as part of a Backtick leads to a os command injection vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-78. The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

scp in OpenSSH through 8.3p1 allows command injection in the scp.c toremote function, as demonstrated by backtick characters in the destination argument. NOTE: the vendor reportedly has stated that they intentionally omit validation of "anomalous argument transfers" because that could "stand a great chance of breaking existing workflows."

The weakness was presented 07/24/2020. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2020-15778 since 07/15/2020. The exploitation appears to be difficult. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/28/2025). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1202 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

The real existence of this vulnerability is still doubted at the moment. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 235514 (RockyLinux 8 : openssh (RLSA-2024:3166)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

The best possible mitigation is suggested to be disabling the affected component.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (235514). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Connectivity Software

Name

• OpenSSH

Version

• 8.3p1

License

• open-source

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CPE 2.2info

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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