openssh — security advisory
The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10009.
- Products
- openssh
- Affected versions
- 1:9.2p1-2
- Fixed versions
- 1:9.2p1-2+deb12u1, 1:9.3p2-1
- CVEs
- CVE-2023-38408
- Confirmed fixed CVEs
- Not specified
- Updated in this feed
- 1 Nov 2026, 16:24 UTC · Revision 1
Source evidence
The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10009.
osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408
openssh
Fixed versions: 1:9.2p1-2+deb12u1
openssh
Fixed versions: 1:9.3p2-1
openssh
Fixed versions: 1:9.3p2-1
Complete source record
{
"id": "4f2d951f8bfc87c2e6d9db0b1b3a7861698a5be61300aa80fede8d32365b1d7b",
"url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408",
"method": "structured",
"payload": {
"kind": "advisory",
"title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408",
"summary": "The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10009.",
"evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408",
"products": [
{
"name": {
"value": "openssh",
"evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "1:9.2p1-2+deb12u1",
"evidence": "/affected/0/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": [
{
"value": "1:9.2p1-2",
"evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
}
]
},
{
"name": {
"value": "openssh",
"evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "1:9.3p2-1",
"evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
},
{
"name": {
"value": "openssh",
"evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "1:9.3p2-1",
"evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
}
],
"severity": "critical",
"structured": {
"id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408",
"aliases": [
"DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408"
],
"metrics": [
{
"type": "CVSS_V3",
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
}
],
"affected": [
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1:9.2p1-2+deb12u1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "openssh",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/openssh?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
"ecosystem": "Debian:12"
},
"versions": [
"1:9.2p1-2"
],
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "not yet assigned"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1:9.3p2-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "openssh",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/openssh?arch=source&distro=trixie",
"ecosystem": "Debian:13"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "not yet assigned"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1:9.3p2-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "openssh",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/openssh?arch=source&distro=forky",
"ecosystem": "Debian:14"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "not yet assigned"
}
}
],
"modified": "2026-10-26T18:03:06.173589604Z",
"provider": "osv",
"upstream": [
"CVE-2023-38408"
],
"references": [
"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-38408"
]
},
"related_cves": [
{
"value": "CVE-2023-38408",
"evidence": "/upstream"
}
],
"security_relevant": true,
"severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
},
"source_id": "core-osv",
"document_id": 457634,
"published_at": "2023-07-20T03:15:10.17+00:00"
}