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CVE-2017-2659· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

It was found that dropbear before version 2013.59 with GSSAPI leaks whether given username is valid or invalid.

It was found that dropbear before version 2013.59 with GSSAPI leaks whether given username is valid or invalid. When an invalid username is given, the GSSAPI authentication failure was incorrectly counted towards the maximum allowed number of password attempts.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.0—No exploit Fix available
Published
Mar 21, 2019
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
1.5% · 73th percentile
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Report tools

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Action score

30

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 1.5%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
7.5
CNA · redhat
5.3
2.2 point gap

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
dropbear ssh projectdropbear ssh

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • dropbear ssh project dropbear sshbefore 2013.59

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • [UNKNOWN] dropbear

    • fixed in 2013.59affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12dropbearbefore 2013.60-12013.60-1

Same product

dropbear ssh project: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2016-7406Format string vulnerability in Dropbear SSH before 2016.74 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in
    42Plan
  • CVE-2016-7407The dropbearconvert command in Dropbear SSH before 2016.74 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted OpenSSH key file.
    41Plan
  • CVE-2017-9078The server in Dropbear before 2017.75 might allow post-authentication root remote code execution because of a double free in cleanup of TCP
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2016-7408The dbclient in Dropbear SSH before 2016.74 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) -m or (2) -c argument.
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2020-36254scp.c in Dropbear before 2020.79 mishandles the filename of .
    33Monitor
  • CVE-2016-3116CRLF injection vulnerability in Dropbear SSH before 2016.72 allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended shell-command restrictions
    31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:dropbear2013.60-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-209 · Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

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Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records