Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2023-38408?

Affected: Openssh (Openbsd) versions 9.3, 9.3-p1; Fedora (Fedoraproject) versions 37, 38; rootio-openssh, among others. The full list is in the CVE brief.

Is CVE-2023-38408 being exploited in the wild?

It is exploited in the wild, listed in Industry KEV feed since Jul 26, 2023.

Is CVE-2023-38408 in the CISA KEV catalog?

No, it is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Is there a public exploit for CVE-2023-38408?

No public exploit code is known.

Is there a fix for CVE-2023-38408?

Fixed versions are available, including devworkspace/devworkspace-operator-bundle:0.22 2, devworkspace/devworkspace-project-clone-rhel8:0.22 2, devworkspace/devworkspace-rhel8-operator:0.22 2.

How urgently should CVE-2023-38408 be patched?

Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is listed as exploited in the wild.

Request A Demo

Vulnerability Intelligence

CVE-2023-38408

CriticalExploited

openssh - security update

Published Sep 7, 2023 · Updated Oct 16, 2026 · Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2023-38408, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38408, DLA-3532-1, JLSEC-2026-68, SUSE-SU-2023:2940-1, SUSE-SU-2023:2945-1, SUSE-SU-2023:2946-1, SUSE-SU-2023:2947-1, SUSE-SU-2023:2950-1, TR-23-0414, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-38408, USN-6242-1, USN-6242-2

Key Facts

Patch immediately

CVE-2023-38408 is a critical-severity vulnerability (CVSS 9.8 v3.1) affecting Openssh (Openbsd), Fedora (Fedoraproject), rootio-openssh and 20 more products.
It is exploited in the wild, listed in Industry KEV feed since Jul 26, 2023. No public exploit code is known.
EPSS estimates a 80% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
Fixed versions are available, including devworkspace/devworkspace-operator-bundle:0.22 2, devworkspace/devworkspace-project-clone-rhel8:0.22 2, devworkspace/devworkspace-rhel8-operator:0.22 2.
Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is listed as exploited in the wild.

CVSS v3.1

9.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS (30-day exploit likelihood)

80%

Higher than 99.6% of all scored CVEs

Exploited in the wild

Yes

1 catalog listing

Public exploit code

None known

Get the full CVE-2023-38408 brief as a PDF

Every affected product and fixed release, exploitation status and a first 24 hours response checklist, emailed within minutes.

Description

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.

Known-Exploited Catalog Listings

Catalog	Added	Remediation due	Ransomware use
Industry KEV feed	Jul 26, 2023	n/a	Not reported

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

Affected Products

329 affected entries in total

Product	Affected versions	Fixed in
OpensshOpenbsd	9.3, 9.3-p1	9.3
FedoraFedoraproject	37, 38	n/a
rootio-opensshrootio	See advisory	1:8.4p1-5+deb11u2
openssh-ssh1ubuntu	See advisory	n/a
OpenSSH_jlljulia	See advisory	9.3.2+0

18 more affected products in the full CVE brief

Patched Releases

devworkspace/devworkspace-operator-bundle:0.22

devworkspace/devworkspace-project-clone-rhel8:0.22

devworkspace/devworkspace-rhel8-operator:0.22

Openssh

9.3, 0:5.3p1-125.el6_10, 0:7.4p1-23.el7_9, 0:8.0p1-7.el8_4, 0:8.7p1-11.el9_0, 0.10.3-7.19.el8_8, 1:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.13+esm1, 1:7.2p2-4ubuntu2.10+esm3, 1:7.2p2-4ubuntu2.fips.2.10.4, 1:7.6p1-4ubuntu0.7+esm1, 1:7.9p1-10+deb10u3, 1:7.9p1-10~ubuntu18.04.fips.0.8, 1:8.2p1-4ubuntu0.8, 1:8.2p1-4ubuntu0.fips.0.8, 1:8.4p1-5+deb11u2, 1:8.9p1-3ubuntu0.3, 1:9.2p1-2+deb12u1, 1:9.3p2-1, 10:7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9_fips, 5.3p1-124.0.2.el6_10, 5.3p1-124.el6_10+sp999, 7.2p2-74.63.1, 7.2p2-81.4.2, 7.4p1-22.80.amzn1, 7.4p1-22.amzn2.0.3, 7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9, 7.4p1-23.0.3.el7_9+sp999, 7.8p1-16.ph3, 7.9p1-150100.6.31.1, 8.0p1-19.el8_8, 8.1p1-150200.5.37.1, 8.4p1-150300.3.22.1, 8.7p1-30.el9_2, 8.7p1-8.amzn2023.0.7, 8.9p1-1, 8.9p1-1.ph4, 8.9p1-3, 9.0_p1-r4, 9.0_p1-r5, 9.1_p1-r4, 9.1_p1-r6, 9.3_p2-r0, 9.3p2-1.1, 9.3p2-1.ph5

OpenSSH_jll

9.3.2+0

openssh-askpass

10:7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9_fips, 5.3p1-124.0.2.el6_10, 7.4p1-22.amzn2.0.3, 7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9, 8.0p1-19.el8_8, 8.7p1-30.el9_2

openssh-askpass-gnome

7.2p2-74.63.1, 7.2p2-81.4.2, 7.9p1-150100.6.31.1, 8.1p1-150200.5.37.1, 8.4p1-150300.3.22.1

openssh-cavs

10:7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9_fips, 7.4p1-22.80.amzn1, 7.4p1-22.amzn2.0.3, 7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9, 8.0p1-19.el8_8, 8.4p1-150300.3.22.1, 9.3p2-1.1

openssh-clients

10:7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9_fips, 5.3p1-124.0.2.el6_10, 7.4p1-22.80.amzn1, 7.4p1-22.amzn2.0.3, 7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9, 8.0p1-19.el8_8, 8.4p1-150300.3.22.1, 8.7p1-30.el9_2, 8.7p1-8.amzn2023.0.7, 8.9p1-1.ph4, 9.3p2-1.1, 9.3p2-1.ph5

openssh-common

8.4p1-150300.3.22.1, 9.3p2-1.1

openssh-fips

7.2p2-74.63.1, 7.2p2-81.4.2, 7.9p1-150100.6.31.1, 8.1p1-150200.5.37.1, 8.4p1-150300.3.22.1, 9.3p2-1.1

openssh-helpers

7.2p2-74.63.1, 7.2p2-81.4.2, 7.9p1-150100.6.31.1, 8.1p1-150200.5.37.1, 8.4p1-150300.3.22.1, 9.3p2-1.1

openssh-keycat

10:7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9_fips, 7.4p1-22.80.amzn1, 7.4p1-22.amzn2.0.3, 7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9, 8.0p1-19.el8_8, 8.7p1-30.el9_2, 8.7p1-8.amzn2023.0.7

openssh-ldap

10:7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9_fips, 5.3p1-124.0.2.el6_10, 7.4p1-22.80.amzn1, 7.4p1-22.amzn2.0.3, 7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9, 8.0p1-19.el8_8

openssh-server

openssh-server-config-rootlogin

9.3p2-1.1

openssh-server-sysvinit

10:7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9_fips, 7.4p1-22.amzn2.0.3, 7.4p1-23.0.1.el7_9

openssh-socket

8.9p1-1.ph4, 9.3p2-1.ph5

pam_ssh_agent_auth

0.10.3-2.22.80.amzn1, 0.10.3-2.22.amzn2.0.3, 0.10.3-2.23.0.1.el7_9, 0.10.3-7.19.el8_8, 0.10.4-4.8.amzn2023.0.7, 0.10.4-5.30.el9_2, 0.9.3-124.0.2.el6_10, 10:0.10.3-2.23.0.1.el7_9_fips

rootio-openssh

1:8.4p1-5+deb11u2, 1:9.2p1-2+deb12u1, 1:9.3p2-1

seal-openssh

5.3p1-124.el6_10+sp999, 7.4p1-23.0.3.el7_9+sp999

Timeline

Added to Industry KEV feed
Jul 26, 2023
Publicly disclosed
Sep 7, 2023
Last updated
Oct 16, 2026

Weakness Type

CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
CWE-428 Unquoted Search Path or Element

References

advisoryhttp://kizzmyanthia.com/2023/07/20/openssh-forwarded-ssh-agent-remote-code-execution/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=openssh-forwarded-ssh-agent-remote-code-execution
advisoryRHSA-2023:4329
advisoryRHSA-2023:4381
advisoryRHSA-2023:4382
advisoryRHSA-2023:4383

15 more references in the full CVE brief

FAQ

Common Questions.

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.
Affected: Openssh (Openbsd) versions 9.3, 9.3-p1; Fedora (Fedoraproject) versions 37, 38; rootio-openssh, among others. The full list is in the CVE brief.
It is exploited in the wild, listed in Industry KEV feed since Jul 26, 2023.
No, it is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
No public exploit code is known.
Fixed versions are available, including devworkspace/devworkspace-operator-bundle:0.22 2, devworkspace/devworkspace-project-clone-rhel8:0.22 2, devworkspace/devworkspace-rhel8-operator:0.22 2.
Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is listed as exploited in the wild.

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