OpenSSH internal-sftp Command-Line Argument Handling Flaw

Compliance Impact

The provided information does not specify any direct impact of this vulnerability on compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

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Executive Summary

The vulnerability exists in the internal-sftp component of sshd in OpenSSH versions before 10.4. It only recognizes the first 9 command-line arguments, which can be problematic if additional arguments beyond the ninth are necessary to enforce the intended security properties of an SFTP connection.

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Impact Analysis

Because internal-sftp only processes the first 9 command-line arguments, security measures or restrictions intended to be applied via later arguments might be ignored. This could lead to weaker security enforcement on SFTP connections, potentially allowing unauthorized access or actions that were meant to be prevented.

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Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, you should upgrade OpenSSH to version 10.4 or later, as this release includes fixes for vulnerabilities in sftp, scp, and sshd components.

The update addresses issues that could allow malicious servers to write files to unintended locations or cause denial of service, and improves security properties related to internal-sftp command-line argument handling.

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Detection Guidance

The vulnerability involves internal-sftp in sshd recognizing only the first 9 command-line arguments before OpenSSH 10.4. Detection would involve identifying sshd versions prior to 10.4 running on your systems.

To detect vulnerable versions, you can check the OpenSSH version installed on your system using the following command:

• ssh -V

If the version is earlier than 10.4, your system may be affected by this vulnerability.

Additionally, you can scan your network for sshd services and query their version banners using tools like nmap:

• nmap -sV -p 22 <target-ip>

This will reveal the SSH server version running on the target, allowing you to identify vulnerable hosts.

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