dbcve.org
iOSOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2002-1359

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-12-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple SSH2 servers and clients do not properly handle large packets or large fields, which may allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via buffer overflow attacks, as demonstrated by the SSHredder SSH protocol test suite.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Multiple SSH2 server and client implementations contain buffer overflow vulnerabilities in their packet processing routines. When receiving oversized packets or large data fields, the software fails to perform adequate bounds checking, allowing attackers to overwrite memory boundaries and potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.

MitigationApply vendor patches or updates to all affected SSH2 server and client software. For legacy systems unable to receive patches, consider network-level filtering of SSH traffic and restricting access to trusted sources.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
iOSOperating system
Affected:= 12.0s= 12.0st= 12.1e= 12.1ea= 12.1t= 12.2= 12.2s= 12.2t
Ssh ClientApplication
Affected:= 1.0a_for_windows
SecurenettermApplication
Affected:= 5.4.1
Shellguard SshApplication
Affected:= 3.4.6
SecureshellApplication
Affected:= 2.0
PuttyApplication
Affected:= 0.48= 0.49= 0.53
WinscpApplication
Affected:= 2.0.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify SSH client software installations
    Check installed programs for Putty, Winscp, Fissh, Securenetterm, Shellguard, or Secureshell by reviewing installed applications or searching program directories for executable files matching these names
    Affected if Any of these specific SSH client applications are installed and match version 0.48, 0.49, 0.53 for Putty; 2.0.0 for Winscp; 1.0a_for_windows for Fissh; 5.4.1 for Securenetterm; 3.4.6 for Shellguard; or 2.0 for Secureshell
  2. Determine Cisco iOS version
    On Cisco networking devices, use the command 'show version' to display the running iOS version
    Affected if The iOS version shown is 12.0s, 12.0st, 12.1e, 12.1ea, 12.1t, 12.2, 12.2s, or 12.2t
  3. Verify SSH service is enabled
    Check if SSH server or client services are actively running or listening on the system. For Windows, check services panel or use 'netstat -an' looking for port 22. For network devices, check configuration with 'show ip ssh' or similar SSH configuration commands
    Affected if SSH service is enabled and processing SSH packets - the vulnerable packet processing routine is active
  4. Check SSH client version directly
    For Putty, right-click the executable, select Properties, and check the Details tab for file version. For Winscp, launch the application and check Help > About. For command-line clients, use version flags like 'putty -V' or 'winscp.exe /version'
    Affected if The reported version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE

A system is affected if it runs any of the listed SSH client or Cisco iOS versions AND has SSH packet processing enabled or active.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patches or updates to all affected SSH2 server and client software. For legacy systems unable to receive patches, consider network-level filtering of SSH traffic and restricting access to trusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to current versions of SSH clients: PuTTY 0.80+, WinSCP 6.x, OpenSSH 9.x, or latest supported releases from respective vendors

  1. 1. Identify all affected SSH clients (Putty, WinSCP, SecureNetTerm, Shellguard SSH, SecureShell, iOS SSH clients) in your environment
  2. 2. Discontinue use of these legacy SSH client versions as they are no longer supported and contain known buffer overflow vulnerabilities
  3. 3. For Windows environments, upgrade to the latest stable release of PuTTY (currently 0.80 or later) from the official website
  4. 4. For file transfer needs, upgrade WinSCP to the latest stable version (6.x series)
  5. 5. For iOS, ensure the device is running a supported iOS version with built-in SSH or use a current third-party SSH client from the App Store
  6. 6. For other affected products (SecureNetTerm, Shellguard SSH, SecureShell), migrate to actively maintained SSH alternatives such as OpenSSH, Bitvise SSH, or their latest supported versions
  7. 7. Verify that the new SSH client versions are properly installed and functioning before decommissioning old versions
  8. 8. Update any scripts or configurations that reference the old client versions
Caveat Legacy SSH clients may have specific configurations or integrations; verify compatibility with current versions and test thoroughly before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in iOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-1359 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2002-1359 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data