OpenSSH < 2.1.1 UseLogin Local Privilege Escalation

high Nessus Plugin ID 10439

Synopsis

The remote host has an application that is affected by a local privilege escalation vulnerability.

Description

According to its banner, the remote host appears to be running OpenSSH version older than 2.1.1. Such versions are reportedly affected by a local privilege esclation vulnerability.

If the UseLogin option is enabled, then sshd does not switch to the uid of the user logging in. Instead, sshd relies on login(1) to do the job. However, if the user specifies a command for remote execution, login(1) cannot be used and sshd fails to set the correct user id, so the command is run with the same privilege as sshd (usually root privileges).

Solution

Upgrade to OpenSSH 2.1.1 or make sure that the option UseLogin is set to no in sshd_config

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 10439

File Name: openssh_uselogin.nasl

Version: 1.30

Type: remote

Family: Misc.

Published: 6/10/2000

Updated: 3/27/2024

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 5.9

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.2

Temporal Score: 5.3

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/a:openbsd:openssh

Required KB Items: installed_sw/OpenSSH

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 10/6/2000

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2000-0525

BID: 1334