Insufficient sanitization of environment variables passed to rsync can bypass the restrictions imposed by rssh, a restricted shell that shou
Insufficient sanitization of environment variables passed to rsync can bypass the restrictions imposed by rssh, a restricted shell that should restrict users to perform only rsync operations, resulting in the execution of arbitrary shell commands.
- Published
- Feb 6, 2019
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 4.7% · 92th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-665
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Report tools
Action score
40
Plan
Add it to your regular patch cycle.
- CVSS
- 39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 1 / 30 · 4.7%
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| pizzashack | rssh | cpe:2.3:a:pizzashack:rssh |
| debian | debian linux | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux |
| fedoraproject | fedora | cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora |
| canonical | ubuntu linux | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- canonical ubuntu linux14.04
- canonical ubuntu linux16.04
- canonical ubuntu linux18.04
- canonical ubuntu linux18.10
- debian debian linux8.0
- debian debian linux9.0
- fedoraproject fedora29
- fedoraproject fedora30
- fedoraproject fedora31
- pizzashack rssh2.3.4
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (debian). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Debian GNU/Linux rssh
- All versions before 2.3.4-5+deb9u2 and 2.3.4-10affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.13 | rssh | before 2.3.4-r1 | 2.3.4-r1 |
| Debian:8 | rssh | before 2.3.4-4+deb8u2 | 2.3.4-4+deb8u2 |
| Debian:9 | rssh | before 2.3.4-5+deb9u2 | 2.3.4-5+deb9u2 |
Same product
pizzashack: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2019-3463Insufficient sanitization of arguments passed to rsync can bypass the restrictions imposed by rssh, a restricted shell that should restrict 40Plan
- CVE-2004-1628Format string vulnerability in log.c in rssh before 2.2.2 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code.37Monitor
- CVE-2019-1000018rssh version 2.3.4 contains a CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') vulnerability in a32Monitor
- CVE-2012-2252Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in rssh before 2.3.4, when the rsync protocol is enabled, allows local users to bypass intended restricte17Monitor
- CVE-2012-3478rssh 2.3.3 and earlier allows local users to bypass intended restricted shell access via crafted environment variables in the command line.8Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| alpine:rssh | 2.3.4-r1 · Alpine:v3.13 | Package registry (OSV) |
| debian:rssh | 2.3.4-4+deb8u2 · Debian:8 | Package 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.
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.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, 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).
National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)
Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.
- TR-19-254 · Nov 10, 2019(Medtronic Valleylab Zafiyeti)
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
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-665 · Improper InitializationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/May/78
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/106839
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/02/msg00007.html
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HO3MDU3AH5SLYBKHH5PJ6PHC63ASIF42/
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KR2OHTHMJVV4DO3HDRFQQZ5JENHDJQEN/
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/T42YYNWJZG422GATWAHAEK4A24OKY557/
- security.gentoo.org/glsa/202007-29
- tracker.debian.org/news/1026713/accepted-rssh-234-5deb9u2-source-amd64-into-stable-embargoed-stable/
- usn.ubuntu.com/3946-1/
- www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4382
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.