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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-476
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Null pointer safety, defensive checks
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

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Impact

The CVSS 3.1 score reflects low severity with limited real-world exploitability due to high attack complexity (AC:H) and required user interaction (UI:R), though the attack vector is network-accessible (AV:N) and requires no privileges (PR:N). The vulnerability causes only availability impact (A:L), not confidentiality or integrity compromise. The practical risk is constrained: an attacker must operate a malicious SFTP server that a victim actively connects to and attempts a file listing operation on, making opportunistic exploitation unlikely. However, in scenarios where organizations use libssh-based SFTP clients to interact with untrusted or compromised remote servers, or where libssh is embedded in mission-critical applications, repeated denial of service crashes could disrupt operations. The confirmed reporting by Red Hat and presence of a tracked Bugzilla issue (2436982) suggest vendor awareness and likely patch availability, though exact remediation status is not explicit in provided data.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

A scenario would involve a user or automated process connecting to a malicious or compromised SFTP server to retrieve files. When the server responds to a file listing request (e.g., an ls or directory enumeration command) with a crafted SSH_FXP_NAME message containing a malformed 'longname' field, the libssh client crashes due to null pointer dereference while attempting to process the response, causing the SFTP session to terminate abruptly and potentially disrupting dependent workflows or batch operations that rely on successful file transfer completion.
Monitor Track and reassess. Why: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 26, 2026

Libssh versions used across Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6-10 and OpenShift Container Platform 4 are vulnerable to a null pointer dereference when processing malformed 'longname' fields in SFTP SSH_FXP_NAME messages, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to trigger denial of service through application crashes. The attack requires user interaction and high attack complexity (CVSS 3.1, CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L) but affects a widely deployed SSH library; no public exploit identified at time of analysis.

RemediationAI

Consult Red Hat's official security advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-0968 for specific libssh package versions and patched updates for your Enterprise Linux or OpenShift version. Apply the vendor-released patch via package manager (yum, dnf, or equivalent) as soon as it becomes available for your supported OS version. As an interim mitigation, restrict SFTP client connections to trusted, verified SFTP servers and implement network segmentation to prevent end-user systems from connecting to untrusted remote systems. Organizations relying on libssh-based SFTP functionality in applications should prioritize patching of the underlying libssh library and test compatibility of patched versions in pre-production environments before widespread deployment.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability exists in libssh, a portable C library implementing the SSH protocol, specifically in the SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) implementation. When a malicious SFTP server sends a specially crafted SSH_FXP_NAME message during file listing operations, the 'longname' field lacks proper null-termination validation. This results in a null pointer dereference (CWE-476), causing the application to read beyond allocated heap memory. The affected products span Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 (cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_*), as well as Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 (cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_container_platform_4), indicating widespread integration of libssh in Red Hat's core infrastructure and container orchestration platform.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 3.1 LOW
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Ubuntu MEDIUM
SUSE 3.7 LOW
AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
Red Hat 3.1 LOW

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Severity Changed
Apr 13, 2026 - 06:22 NVD
CRITICAL LOW
CVSS changed
Apr 13, 2026 - 06:22 NVD
9.8 (CRITICAL) 3.1 (LOW)
Patch released
Mar 31, 2026 - 21:13 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Mar 26, 2026 - 20:06 nvd
CRITICAL 9.8

DescriptionNVD

A flaw was found in libssh in which a malicious SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) server can exploit this by sending a malformed 'longname' field within an SSH_FXP_NAME message during a file listing operation. This missing null check can lead to reading beyond allocated memory on the heap. This can cause unexpected behavior or lead to a denial of service (DoS) due to application crashes.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-0968 is a low-severity vulnerability in A flaw involving null pointer dereference (CVSS 3.1). The limited severity suggests constrained impact, typically requiring specific conditions or local access for exploitation. Apply vendor updates when available as part of routine maintenance.

Business Impact: Low
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch during routine maintenance. Standard null pointer dereference mitigations apply if patching is delayed.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 92% exploitable
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment Vendor VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity LOW
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
Low
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

16
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +16
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Null Pointer Dereference MEDIUM

A null pointer dereference occurs when a program attempts to access memory through a pointer that has been set to NULL (address 0x0).

Denial of Service MEDIUM

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_container_platform_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Related Vulnerabilities in libssh Configuration and Protocol Flaws

View all 5
CVE-2026-0966 HIGH
8.2
CVE-2026-0965 LOW
3.3
CVE-2026-0967 MEDIUM
5.5
CVE-2026-21724 MEDIUM
5.4

More in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

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CVE-2026-18663 MEDIUM
5.9 Aug 12

Heap corruption via double-free in 389-ds-base's LDAP control parsing allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash
CVE-2026-4631 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 07

Remote code execution in Cockpit's web interface allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the h
CVE-2026-4480 CRITICAL POC
9.0 May 26

Remote code execution in Samba's printing subsystem allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary shell commands via craft
CVE-2026-101258 HIGH POC
7.8 Oct 06

Ghostscript can execute arbitrary shell commands with the privileges of its process when it renders a crafted PostScript
CVE-2026-96889 HIGH POC
7.8 Sep 23

Use-after-free in librsvg during rendering of crafted SVG documents with nested XInclude directives and duplicate entity
CVE-2026-4775 HIGH POC
7.8 Mar 24

A signed integer overflow vulnerability exists in the libtiff library's putcontig8bitYCbCr44tile function that leads to

CVE-2026-114406 MEDIUM POC
6.8 Oct 21

The system CA trust store shipped in Red Hat's ca-certificates RPM packages includes eMudhra root authorities that signe
CVE-2026-18922 CRITICAL
9.8 Sep 07

Authentication bypass in 389 Directory Server (shipped as Red Hat Directory Server 11-13 and within RHEL 6-10) lets remo
CVE-2026-14544 CRITICAL
9.8 Jul 03

Remote code execution and privilege escalation in HPLIP (HP Linux Imaging and Printing) affects the hpcups print filter

CVE-2026-76578 CRITICAL
9.8 Sep 07

Unauthenticated privilege escalation in FreeIPA (Red Hat Identity Management) allows a remote attacker to gain genuine a
CVE-2026-102560 CRITICAL
9.8 Sep 29

A heap buffer overflow exists in libsoup's WebSocket permessage-deflate compression path: when a very large outbound mes
CVE-2026-5121 HIGH
7.5 Mar 30

Remote code execution in libarchive on 32-bit systems allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code via spe

Same weakness CWE-476 – NULL Pointer Dereference

View all
CVE-2016-0742 HIGH
7.5
CVE-2014-3470 MEDIUM
4.3
CVE-2020-1967 HIGH POC
7.5
CVE-2017-3730 HIGH POC
7.5
CVE-2017-3169 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2016-4957 HIGH
7.5
CVE-2021-3449 MEDIUM
5.9
CVE-2015-3194 HIGH
7.5

Same technique Denial Of Service

View all
CVE-2015-5119 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2011-2462 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2011-0611 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2012-1889 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2012-0507 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2014-1761 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2015-5122 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2011-0609 HIGH POC
7.8

Vendor StatusVendor

Ubuntu

Priority: Medium
libssh
Release Status Version
upstream needs-triage -
jammy released 0.9.6-2ubuntu0.22.04.6
noble released 0.10.6-2ubuntu0.3
questing released 0.11.2-1ubuntu0.2
bionic released 0.8.0~20170825.94fa1e38-1ubuntu0.7+esm6
focal released 0.9.3-2ubuntu2.5+esm3
xenial released 0.6.3-4.3ubuntu0.6+esm4
USN-8051-1 USN-8051-2

Debian

Bug #1127693
libssh
Release Status Fixed Version Urgency
bullseye vulnerable 0.9.8-0+deb11u1 -
bullseye (security) vulnerable 0.9.8-0+deb11u2 -
bookworm vulnerable 0.10.6-0+deb12u2 -
bookworm (security) vulnerable 0.10.6-0+deb12u1 -
trixie vulnerable 0.11.2-1+deb13u1 -
forky vulnerable 0.11.3-1 -
sid fixed 0.12.0-3 -
(unstable) fixed 0.12.0-1 -

SUSE

Severity: Low
Product Status
Container private-registry/harbor-trivy-adapter:1.1.1-1.40 Container suse/manager/5.0/x86_64/server:latest Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-GDC Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-GCE-3P Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image pr_15_7 Affected
Container suse/ltss/sle12.5/sles12sp5:8.5.205 Image SLES12-SP5-EC2-SAP-BYOS Image SLES12-SP5-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS-Production Image SLES12-SP5-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS-Production Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/rt-os-container:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/toolbox:latest Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/baremetal-os-container:2.2.1-7.59 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-os-container:2.2.1-5.80 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/kvm-os-container:2.2.1-5.85 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/rt-os-container:2.2.1-5.73 Image SL-Micro-Base Image SL-Micro-Base-RT Image SL-Micro-Base-RT-SelfInstall Image SL-Micro-Base-RT-encrypted Image SL-Micro-Base-SelfInstall Image SL-Micro-Base-encrypted Image SL-Micro-Base-qcow Image SL-Micro-Default Image SL-Micro-Default-SelfInstall Image SL-Micro-Default-encrypted Image SL-Micro-Default-qcow Image SL-Micro-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Proxy-BYOS-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-BYOS-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-EC2-llc Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-EC2-ltd Affected
Container suse/sle-micro-rancher/5.2:latest Container suse/sle-micro/5.2/toolbox:14.2-7.11.242 Affected

References

Advisories & patches
ADVISORY https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-0968 ADVISORY https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8051-1 ADVISORY https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8051-2 ADVISORY https://vuldb.com/vuln/345441 ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:0567/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:0778/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:0779/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20524/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20531/ REF https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:18160 REF https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:18683 REF https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-0968 REF https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2436982 REF https://www.libssh.org/2026/02/10/libssh-0-12-0-and-0-11-4-security-releases/

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