Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2026-35385: OpenSSH scp improper permission preservation in legacy mode

CVE-2026-35385 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2026-04-02

Technologies: Openssh, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server. Vendors: Red Hat, OpenBSD.

Executive brief

OpenSSH is a widely used tool for secure remote access and file transfers. A security issue was identified in the 'scp' file transfer utility where, under specific conditions, downloaded files could retain dangerous 'setuid' or 'setgid' permissions. If an administrator uses the legacy protocol to download a malicious file, that file could be granted elevated system privileges, potentially allowing an attacker to gain unauthorized control over the local system.

Technical details

A vulnerability exists in the OpenSSH scp(1) client due to improper preservation of file permissions (CWE-281). When a user performs a download as root using the legacy SCP protocol (via the -O flag) and does not explicitly request to preserve modes (without the -p flag), the client fails to clear the setuid and setgid bits from the received file. An attacker who controls a remote server or can intercept the connection could provide a malicious file with these bits set. If the local root user downloads such a file, it will be installed with elevated privileges, potentially leading to local privilege escalation. This issue was addressed in OpenSSH version 10.3.

Affected products

  • OpenSSH OpenSSH before 10.3
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6, 7, 8, 9

Timeline

  • 2026-04-02: advisory: OpenSSH 10.3 released with security fixes
  • 2026-04-02: disclosed

References

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