OpenSSH < 2.1.1 UseLogin Local Privilege Escalation

high Nessus Network Monitor Plugin ID 1991

Synopsis

The remote host is vulnerable to a flaw that allows for the bypassing of authentication

Description

The remote host is running a version of OpenSSH which is older than 2.1.1. 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 privileges as sshd (usually root privileges).

Note: NNM has solely relied on the banner of the SSH client to perform this check. Any backported patches or workarounds such as recompiling or edited configurations are not observable through the banner.

Solution

Upgrade to OpenSSH 2.1.1 or higher.

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 1991

Family: SSH

Published: 8/20/2004

Updated: 3/6/2019

Nessus ID: 10439

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 5.9

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.2

Temporal Score: 7.2

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

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.4

Temporal Score: 8.4

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:H/RL:U/RC:X

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/a:openbsd:openssh

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2000-0525

BID: 1334