#VU16946 Security restrictions bypass in OpenSSH - CVE-2018-20685

Vulnerability identifier: #VU16946

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 2.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-20685

CWE-ID: CWE-284

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
OpenSSH
Server applications / Remote management servers, RDP, SSH

Vendor: OpenSSH

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to bypass security restrictions on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper validation of filenames by the scp.c source code file in the SCP client . A remote unauthenticated attacker can trick the victim into accessing a file with the filename of . or an empty filename from an attacker-controlled Secure Shell (SSH) server to bypass access restrictions on the system, which could be used to conduct further attacks.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

OpenSSH: 7.9

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External links
https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/usr.bin/ssh/scp.c.diff?r1=1.197&r2=1.198&f=h
https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/6010c0303a422a9c5fa8860c061bf7105eb7f8b2

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.