OpenSSH ssh-agent Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2023-38408)
A critical OpenSSH ssh-agent vulnerability (CVE-2023-38408) allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on the client by forwarding the agent and loading a malicious shared library, affecting all ssh-agent versions up to 9.3p2 and OpenSSH versions up to 9.3p2‑1, with mitigation recommendations to disable forwarding and upgrade the package.
SSH‑Agent is a component of SSH that manages private keys and supports public‑key authentication.
When a user forwards ssh‑agent to a malicious server, the lack of restrictions on loaded shared libraries enables an attacker to pass a malicious library as a parameter; ssh‑agent then loads and unloads it via dlopen / dlclose , achieving remote code execution on the client host.
Vulnerability Name
OpenSSH ssh-agent Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Vulnerability Type
Code Injection
Discovery Date
2023-07-20
Impact Scope
Wide
MPS ID
MPS-hwop-qus5
CVE ID
CVE-2023-38408
CNVD ID
-
The vulnerability affects ssh‑agent versions up to 9.3p2 (inclusive) and OpenSSH versions up to 9.3p2‑1.
Mitigation: avoid using ssh‑agent forwarding and upgrade the OpenSSH package to version 9.3p2‑1 or later.
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