CVE-2026-87865
Description
A flaw was found in curl. When libcurl is built with the libssh2 backend and uses a hashed known-hosts file, host key verification can mistakenly report a key mismatch as a missing key to custom verification callbacks. A remote attacker who intercepts or controls the Secure Shell (SSH) connection can exploit this flaw to make a previously pinned server appear as a new host. As a result, the application may inadvertently authenticate to an untrusted server, leading to credential exposure and the receipt of malicious data.
Statement
This vulnerability is assessed as Low impact because exploitation requires a specialized non-default configuration and does not affect standard curl command-line usage. The issue is restricted to custom applications that consume libcurl compiled with libssh2 and explicitly configure a custom host key callback alongside hashed host records. Because trust-on-first-use callback logic must be custom-implemented and an attacker must be able to intercept SSH network traffic, default system installations face minimal operational risk.
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 Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 3.7 | N/A | 7.4 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Authentication
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism; Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
When a certificate is invalid or malicious, it might allow an attacker to spoof a trusted entity by interfering in the communication path between the host and client. The product might connect to a malicious host while believing it is a trusted host, or the product might be deceived into accepting spoofed data that appears to originate from a trusted host.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Bobbeh Rhino for reporting this issue.
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