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vsftpd EUVDEUVD-2026-113833

| CVE-2026-119568 CRITICAL
Improper Verification of Source of a Communication Channel (CWE-940)
2026-10-30 VulnCheck GHSA-93qj-4wg6-29x9
9.1
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Share victim's source IP (NAT/proxy)
  2. Delivery
    Open control connection and issue AUTH TLS
  3. Exploit
    Obtain valid TLS session ticket
  4. Execution
    Connect to victim's PASV data port
  5. Persist
    Resume own ticket to bypass ssl_data_accept() check
  6. Impact
    Hijack FTPS data channel to steal downloads or inject uploads

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V12 - Secure Communication Communication channel verification
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the target to be using FTPS (explicit TLS via AUTH TLS) on vsftpd 3.0.5 or earlier, and requires the attacker to originate from the same source IP as the victim (e.g., shared NAT, VPN/proxy egress, or multi-tenant host), because the flaw lets ssl_data_accept() accept any valid resumed TLS session ticket instead of binding the data connection to the victim's authenticated control session. The attacker must also connect to the victim's PASV data port and win the timing race for that data connection. Limiting factors captured by AC:H/AT:P: no shared-source-IP position means no path to exploit, FTP-only (non-TLS) or non-PASV deployments are not in scope, and success depends on the race against the legitimate data transfer - it is not reliable, remote, mass exploitation against arbitrary internet hosts.

Impact

The input rates this CVSS 4.0 9.1 (Critical) with vector AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N and VC:H/VI:H/VA:N, and vuln.today assigns an 'act_now' decision label, so this should be treated as a near-term priority for any environment running FTPS on vsftpd ≤3.0.5. The signals are partly reinforcing and partly tempering: PR:N (unauthenticated) and AV:N (network) raise urgency, but AC:H combined with AT:P reflects real preconditions - the attacker must share the victim's source IP and win a timing/connection race against the victim's PASV data channel - which point to targeted rather than opportunistic, internet-wide exploitation. No EPSS probability is provided in the input, and there is no CISA KEV listing in the data, so there is no confirmed active-exploitation or scored-likelihood signal to weigh against the vendor/researcher reporting; the 'act_now' label here is driven by severity and a detailed public technical analysis, not by observed in-the-wild use. Impact is confined to the FTPS data channel (confidentiality and integrity of transferred files, VC:H/VI:H) with no availability impact and no scope/subsequent-system change (VA:N, SC:N/SI:N/SA:N). Net: a genuine high-priority data-channel hijack for FTPS deployments where attackers can share the victim's source address (shared NAT, proxy, multi-tenant egress), but the shared-source-IP and timing requirements meaningfully narrow the realistic attacker population below what a raw 9.1 implies.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker positioned behind the same NAT or egress IP as a legitimate FTPS user opens their own control connection, issues AUTH TLS, and obtains a valid TLS session ticket. Because ssl_data_accept() accepts any resumed ticket rather than binding the data connection to the victim's control-channel session, the attacker connects to the victim's PASV data port and resumes their own ticket to hijack the transfer - stealing downloaded content or injecting attacker-controlled data into an upload. A detailed technical write-up of the flaw is public (abraxaslabs research and the VulnCheck advisory); the input does not confirm packaged working exploit code, and the AC:H/AT:P metrics reflect the required shared source IP and timing against the data channel.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
No patch listed yet 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 30, 2026

FTPS data connections on vsftpd through 3.0.5 can be hijacked by a second client that resumes its own TLS session ticket against the victim's passive-mode data port, allowing theft of downloaded files or injection of content into uploads. The attacker must not be authenticated and must originate from the same source IP as the victim (shared NAT, VPN/proxy egress, or multi-tenant host) and win a timing race for the PASV connection, which is why the assessed CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N with confidentiality and integrity impact but no availability impact. No confirmed working exploit code or CISA KEV entry is present in the available data, although the researcher's technical writeup is referenced, and vuln.today assigns an act_now decision label for any environment running FTPS on vsftpd ≤3.0.5.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch was identified at time of analysis for CVE-2026-119568, and 3.0.5 is the highest version listed in the affected range, so upgrading is not currently an available fix; track the upstream project page at https://security.appspot.com/vsftpd.html and the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vsftpd-through-3.0.5-require-ssl-reuse-bypass-via-ftps-data-channel-hijacking for a corrected release. Because exploitation requires the attacker to share the victim's source IP, the most direct compensating control is to stop presenting FTPS to clients that share an egress address: segregate or NAT FTPS clients onto distinct source addresses, and refuse FTPS sessions from shared VPN, proxy, or multi-tenant egress pools - the trade-off is reduced flexibility for remote and roaming users. Where passive FTPS must remain exposed, restrict the configured PASV port range at the firewall to the specific peer networks that legitimately transfer data, which shrinks the window in which a same-IP attacker can reach the victim's data port but complicates support for clients on dynamic addresses. Deployments that cannot isolate clients can fall back to plain FTP confined to a trusted network segment or tunnelled inside IPsec/SSH, accepting that FTP credentials and payloads are then only protected by the outer tunnel. Alternatively, migrate the FTPS service to an implementation that correctly binds the data connection to the authenticated control session; note that until a fixed build is available, no configuration setting alone is confirmed to close the ssl_data_accept() ticket acceptance path.

Affected VersionsENISA

vsftpd 0 ≤3.0.5

Affected Packages

euvd vsftpd no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The flaw is a CWE-940 improper verification of the source of a communication channel, located in vsftpd's ssl_data_accept() handling. In explicit FTPS (AUTH TLS), the control channel is upgraded to TLS and the subsequent passive-mode data connection is expected to be bound to that authenticated, encrypted control session - vsftpd exposes require_ssl_reuse for exactly this purpose. Instead, ssl_data_accept() accepts any valid resumed TLS session ticket presented on the data connection, so possession of a resumable ticket rather than proof of the same client identity is sufficient to have the transfer performed. Because the check hinges on the ticket and on the peer address rather than on the control-session binding, an attacker positioned behind the same source IP as the victim can open their own AUTH TLS session, obtain a ticket, then connect to the victim's PASV port and take over the data stream. The assessed preconditions are explicit: FTPS must be in use, passive mode is the target of the hijack, and the attacker must share the victim's egress address and win the race against the legitimate transfer - factors reflected in AC:H and AT:P, and the reason this is not reliable, remote, mass exploitation against arbitrary internet hosts.

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Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 9.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 7.4 HIGH

Network-reachable and unauthenticated (AV:N/PR:N), but AC:H reflects the required shared source IP plus data-channel timing race; high confidentiality/integrity impact on transferred files, no availability impact.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
High
Vulnerable system: Integrity
High
Vulnerable system: Availability
None
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

vsftpd through 3.0.5 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in ssl_data_accept() that allows unauthenticated attackers to hijack FTPS data connections by resuming their own TLS session ticket. Attackers sharing the victim's source IP can obtain a ticket via AUTH TLS, then connect to the victim's PASV port to steal downloads or inject upload data.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A critical vulnerability in vsftpd (through 3.0.5) exposes FTPS data connections to session hijacking, allowing an attacker to steal or tamper with files transferred over passive-mode FTP. Organizations using vsftpd with FTPS are at risk of data breaches and integrity compromise, particularly where users share network egress points (e.g., NAT, VPN). Leadership should prioritize remediation because of the potential for undetected data leakage and regulatory exposure.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations include disabling FTPS passive mode, restricting source IP diversity for FTPS clients, implementing network monitoring for suspicious data connection reuse, and considering alternative FTPS servers.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 65% exploitable
Prevalence
High
vsftpd is a default, widely deployed FTP/FTPS daemon across many Linux distributions
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

46
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +46
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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