CVE-2020-12062
Published: June 1, 2020Last modified: July 22, 2025
Description
The scp client in OpenSSH 8.2 incorrectly sends duplicate responses to the server upon a utimes system call failure, which allows a malicious unprivileged user on the remote server to overwrite arbitrary files in the client's download directory by creating a crafted subdirectory anywhere on the remote server. The victim must use the command scp -rp to download a file hierarchy containing, anywhere inside, this crafted subdirectory. NOTE: the vendor points out that "this attack can achieve no more than a hostile peer is already able to achieve within the scp protocol" and "utimes does not fail under normal circumstances.
Severity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score | 7.5 |
| Attack Vector | NETWORK |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | NONE |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | NONE |
| Integrity impact | HIGH |
| Availability impact | NONE |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N |
Status
| Product | Release | Package | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaquita Linux | 23 LTS | openssh | Not affected (9.1_p1-r5) |
| Stream | openssh | Not affected (9.4_p1-r0) | |
| Hardened Containers | 23 LTS | openssh | Not affected (9.1_p1-r5) |
| Stream | openssh | Not affected (9.4_p1-r0) |