CVE-2026-59849

Description

A flaw was found in libssh. Logic errors in automatic certificate-based public key authentication can cause libssh clients to loop indefinitely when configured certificates are missing or repeatedly rejected by a server, leading to denial of service.

Mitigation

Do not connect to untrusted SSH servers and do not use certificates until patched.

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).

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score3.17.53.1
Attack VectorNetworkNetworkNetwork
Attack ComplexityHighLowHigh
Privileges RequiredLowNoneLow
User InteractionNoneNoneNone
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedUnchanged
ConfidentialityNoneNoneNone
Integrity ImpactNoneNoneNone
Availability ImpactLowHighLow

Vector

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

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

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

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Amplification

An infinite loop will cause unexpected consumption of resources, such as CPU cycles or memory. The software's operation may slow down, or cause a long time to respond.

Acknowledgements

Red Hat would like to thank AISLE Research for reporting this issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

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