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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2023-38408

OpenBSD openssh Unquoted Search Path or Element

Published Jul 20, 2023 · catalog updated Oct 15, 2026 · OpenBSD

Patch now

CVE-2023-38408 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog. Confirm OpenBSD against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Severity
Critical9.8
Known exploitation
CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
79.70%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
cpe fedoraproject/fedora · cpe openbsd/openssh · vendor OpenBSD openssh

The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10009. Initial-access exploit intelligence.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe fedoraproject/fedora37
  • cpe fedoraproject/fedora38
  • cpe openbsd/openssh9.3
  • vendor OpenBSD opensshversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2023-38408

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2023-38408 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog. Confirm OpenBSD against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with 37, 38, 9.3. Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-428. EPSS 79.70%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Jul 20, 2023 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10009.

  2. Jul 26, 2023 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.

  3. Oct 15, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10009.

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2023-38408

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2023-38408

    30-day exploitation probability 79.7%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2023-38408

    The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this is

    nvd.nist.gov
  • Packet Storm SecurityCited referencehttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/173661/OpenSSH-Forwarded-SSH-Agent-Remote-Code-Execution.html

    Packet Storm link already published on the finding.

    packetstormsecurity.com
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2023-38408

    The PKCS#11 feature in ssh-agent in OpenSSH before 9.3p2 has an insufficiently trustworthy search path, leading to remote code execution if an agent is forwarded to an attacker-controlled system. (Code in /usr/lib is not necessarily safe for loading into ssh-agent.) NOTE: this is

    vulncheck.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 17, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.