CVE-2026-109152
Description
A flaw was found in scp.py. When receiving files over a Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) connection, a malicious remote server can supply manipulated file paths containing directory traversal sequences. This flaw allows an attacker to write or overwrite files outside the intended destination directory on the receiving system.
Statement
A moderate severity path traversal flaw was found in the Python scp.py library, which is shipped as a dependency in several Red Hat products, including Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, Red Hat OpenStack Platform, OpenShift Container Platform, Migration Toolkit for Containers, Red Hat Confidential Compute Attestation, and Ansible cloud services components. When a client uses scp.py to receive files over a Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) connection, a malicious or compromised remote SCP server can supply crafted file paths containing directory traversal sequences. The scp.py receive handlers (_recv_file/_recv_pushd) do not neutralize these sequences, allowing the server to write or overwrite files outside the intended destination directory on the receiving system, limited to the privileges of the client process. This impacts the integrity and availability of local files, but does not directly result in information disclosure. Exploitation requires user interaction: a user or automated process must initiate an SCP file transfer from an untrusted remote server. Red Hat rated this flaw as Moderate severity (CVSS 5.4, CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L), consistent with the upstream assessment. Because the impact is Moderate with a CVSS score below 7.0, fixes in the affected Red Hat products are currently deferred, and the affected Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 and 2.5 container streams are out of support scope. The residual risk is limited to deployments where files are received over SCP from untrusted or potentially compromised servers.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability. The upstream scp.py project has released version 0.16.2, which contains the fix for this flaw; Red Hat customers should consume updated scp.py packages through their supported product releases when they become available.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.4 | N/A | 5.4 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L/RL:O/RC:C
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
The attacker may be able to create or overwrite critical files that are used to execute code, such as programs or libraries.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Files or Directories
The attacker may be able to overwrite or create critical files, such as programs, libraries, or important data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, appending a new account at the end of a password file may allow an attacker to bypass authentication.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories
The attacker may be able to read the contents of unexpected files and expose sensitive data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, by reading a password file, the attacker could conduct brute force password guessing attacks in order to break into an account on the system.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
The attacker may be able to overwrite, delete, or corrupt unexpected critical files such as programs, libraries, or important data. This may prevent the product from working at all and in the case of protection mechanisms such as authentication, it has the potential to lock out product users.
Frequently Asked Questions
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