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libssh EUVDEUVD-2026-46179

| CVE-2026-59844 MEDIUM
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value (CWE-789)
2026-07-21 redhat GHSA-qp28-hpg5-j7xc
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: redhat
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Recon
    Obtain valid SSH credentials
  2. Delivery
    Authenticate to SFTP server
  3. Exploit
    Send SSH_FXP_READ with maximum length field
  4. Install
    Server allocates excessive memory per request
  5. C2
    Repeat requests rapidly
  6. Execute
    Exhaust server memory
  7. Impact
    SFTP service denial

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory allocation limits
Exploitation Conditions

The attacker must hold valid SSH credentials with SFTP subsystem access on the targeted system (CVSS PR:L confirms low-privilege authentication is required, not unauthenticated access). The vulnerable code path is the libssh SFTP server subsystem, so the server must be configured to offer SFTP service (the default in most RHEL deployments using sshd with the internal-sftp subsystem). No non-default configuration is required to be vulnerable - standard SFTP-enabled sshd deployments using libssh are at risk. Exploitation is limited by the authentication requirement: unauthenticated remote attackers cannot reach the vulnerable path. Scope is unchanged (S:U), so the impact is confined to the targeted server process and its memory space rather than affecting adjacent systems directly.

Impact

The CVSS 6.5 Medium rating reflects a network-accessible availability attack requiring low privileges (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H). Real-world risk is moderate: exploitation is constrained to authenticated SFTP users, which substantially narrows the attacker population compared to pre-auth vulnerabilities. However, any user with valid SSH credentials and SFTP access - including compromised accounts or malicious insiders - could trigger service disruption with no special technical skill. Low attack complexity (AC:L) means the attack is straightforward once credentials are held. No EPSS data was provided; no KEV listing and no public POC exist at time of analysis, suggesting this has not seen broad opportunistic exploitation. The sole impact is availability (C:N/I:N), so there is no data exfiltration or integrity risk. The 'Information Disclosure' tag in the source data appears misapplied and conflicts with the CVSS impact vector - treat it as a tagging error. Priority is elevated for environments where libssh is used as a public-facing SFTP server with broad user bases.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with valid SSH credentials on an RHEL system running libssh as an SFTP server connects and issues a sequence of SSH_FXP_READ requests each specifying a maximally large length value. The server allocates memory for each request without bounding the requested size; by repeating this in a tight loop the attacker progressively exhausts available system memory, causing the SFTP service - and potentially co-resident services - to become unavailable. No public POC has been identified, but the attack requires only standard SFTP client tooling and knowledge of the SSH_FXP_READ message format.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jul 21, 2026

Memory exhaustion in libssh's SFTP server subsystem allows authenticated remote clients to degrade or crash the service by sending SSH_FXP_READ requests specifying an arbitrarily large read length, causing the server to allocate unbounded memory for each request. The CVSS vector (PR:L) confirms exploitation requires valid credentials, limiting the attack surface to authenticated SFTP users. No public exploit code and no CISA KEV listing have been identified at time of analysis, though the low complexity and network-accessible attack path make this a realistic insider or credential-abuse scenario.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor-released patch via Red Hat's standard update mechanism (yum/dnf update libssh) once a fixed package is published for the affected RHEL version; consult https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-59844 for the current patch status and exact fixed package version. No specific fixed version number was confirmed in the provided data - do not assume a version without verifying against the Red Hat advisory. As an interim compensating control, restrict SFTP subsystem access to only explicitly authorized users using AllowUsers or Match blocks in sshd_config, which reduces the population of potential attackers at the cost of operational flexibility. Additionally, applying connection rate limiting (MaxStartups, MaxSessions in sshd_config) can slow repeated request flooding, though it will not prevent a single authenticated user from issuing many large-length reads within an established session. Monitoring for abnormal memory consumption on the SFTP daemon process can provide early detection.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

libssh is a C library implementing the SSHv2 protocol, widely packaged in enterprise Linux distributions including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9, and 10 and Red Hat Hardened Images (per CPE data: cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_*). The SFTP subsystem handles SSH_FXP_READ messages, which include a client-specified length field indicating how many bytes to return. CWE-789 (Uncontrolled Memory Allocation) identifies the root cause: the server fails to validate or cap this length field before allocating memory proportional to the client-supplied value. Repeated requests with large length values progressively exhaust server-side memory. This is a server-side flaw in the libssh SFTP daemon code path, not in the client library.

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Severity by source

Vendor (redhat) PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 6.5 MEDIUM

Network-reachable SFTP server, no complexity, low-privilege auth required; purely availability impact via uncontrolled memory allocation.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 6.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).

CVSS VectorVendor: redhat

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

DescriptionCVE.org

A flaw was found in libssh. A remote authenticated client can issue SSH_FXP_READ requests with an arbitrarily large length, causing a libssh SFTP server to allocate excessive memory and potentially exhaust it through repeated requests.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.5%
Top 63% exploitable
Prevalence
High
libssh packaged across all major RHEL versions in wide enterprise use
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment MSRC 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 MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.5%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
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· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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_hardened_images:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 Affected

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