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iOSOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2002-1360

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
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 strings with null characters in them when the string length is specified by a length field, which could allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code due to interactions with the use of null-terminated strings as implemented using languages such as C, 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 servers and clients fail to properly handle strings containing null characters when the string length is specified by a length field, causing a mismatch between length-specified parsing and null-terminated string handling as implemented in C. This discrepancy can lead to buffer overflows, denial of service, or potentially arbitrary code execution by remote attackers using specially crafted SSH protocol packets.

MitigationUpdate all SSH2 server and client implementations to patches or versions that properly handle length-prefixed strings without relying on null termination. If using custom SSH implementations, audit string handling code to ensure length fields are respected independently of null characters.

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 installed SSH client or server product
    Check programs installed on the system that provide SSH functionality (clients like PuTTY, WinSCP, Fissh, Securenetterm, Shellguard, Secureshell; or SSH servers like Cisco iOS devices)
    Affected if The product matches one of the affected products: PuTTY versions 0.48, 0.49, or 0.53; WinSCP version 2.0.0; Fissh Ssh Client 1.0a_for_windows; Intersoft Securenetterm 5.4.1; Netcomposite Shellguard Ssh 3.4.6; Pragma Systems Secureshell 2.0; or Cisco iOS 12.0s, 12.0st, 12.1e, 12.1ea, 12.1t, 12.2, 12.
  2. Retrieve the exact version number of the SSH product
    For PuTTY: open PuTTY and check 'About' in the system menu, or check the executable properties. For WinSCP: go to Help > About. For Cisco iOS: use 'show version' command. For other products: check program properties, About dialog, or documentation.
    Affected if The version exactly matches one of the listed affected versions (0.48, 0.49, 0.53, 2.0.0, 1.0a_for_windows, 5.4.1, 3.4.6, 2.0, or any 12.0s/12.0st/12.1e/12.1ea/12.1t/12.2/12.2s/12.2t Cisco iOS release)
  3. Verify SSH service is enabled and accessible
    Confirm the SSH server is running (for Cisco iOS: check 'ip ssh' configuration) or the SSH client is actively used. The vulnerability is triggerable via specially crafted packets during SSH protocol communication.
    Affected if The product is running as an SSH server accepting connections, or is being used as an SSH client to connect to remote systems

You are affected if you have any of the specific product versions listed (PuTTY 0.48/0.49/0.53, WinSCP 2.0.0, Fissh 1.0a, Securenetterm 5.4.1, Shellguard 3.4.6, Secureshell 2.0, or Cisco iOS 12.0s-12.2t) and the SSH service is active or the client is in use.

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

Update all SSH2 server and client implementations to patches or versions that properly handle length-prefixed strings without relying on null termination. If using custom SSH implementations, audit string handling code to ensure length fields are respected independently of null characters.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to current stable versions of respective SSH clients (e.g., Putty 0.80+, WinSCP 6.x+)

  1. Identify all affected SSH clients (Putty, WinSCP, SecureNetTerm, Shellguard SSH, SecureShell, SSH Client for Windows) currently in use in your environment
  2. Uninstall or disable all vulnerable versions of these SSH clients
  3. Research the current supported version of each SSH client product (modern Putty, WinSCP, etc.)
  4. Download and install the latest stable version from the official vendor website
  5. Verify the newly installed version does not contain the null character string handling vulnerability
  6. Update organizational standards to prohibit use of legacy SSH client versions
Caveat Legacy SSH clients may have interface changes or may lack features required for very old systems; 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 / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2002-1360 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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