dbcve.org
OpensshApplication · OpenBSD

CVE-2004-2069

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2004-12-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
sshd.c in OpenSSH 3.6.1p2 and 3.7.1p2 and possibly other versions, when using privilege separation, does not properly signal the non-privileged process when a session has been terminated after exceeding the LoginGraceTime setting, which leaves the connection open and allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (connection consumption).

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

In OpenSSH 3.6.1p2 and 3.7.1p2 (and possibly other versions) with privilege separation enabled, the privileged monitor process fails to properly signal the unprivileged child process when a login session is terminated after exceeding the LoginGraceTime threshold. This leaves the network connection in an open but unusable state, allowing remote attackers to repeatedly trigger this condition and exhaust available connections (Denial of Service).

MitigationUpgrade OpenSSH to a patched version (3.7.2 or later) that properly handles the inter-process signaling when LoginGraceTime expires. If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider reducing LoginGraceTime to limit exposure window, though upgrade is the definitive fix.

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
OpensshApplication
Affected:= 3.6.1p2= 3.7.1p2

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

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

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. Check installed OpenSSH version
    Run `sshd -v` or `sshd -V` to display the OpenSSH daemon version, or check your package manager for the installed openssh-server version.
    Affected if The version is exactly 3.6.1p2 or 3.7.1p2 (or a version within the 3.6.1 or 3.7.1 release family that has not been patched).
  2. Verify privilege separation is enabled
    Check the sshd configuration file (typically /etc/ssh/sshd_config) for the directive `UsePrivilegeSeparation`. Ensure it is not set to `no` or `noexec`.
    Affected if Privilege separation is enabled (the default setting), which is required for this vulnerability to be triggerable.
  3. Confirm LoginGraceTime configuration
    Check sshd_config for the `LoginGraceTime` directive. Run `grep LoginGraceTime /etc/ssh/sshd_config` to see the current value.
    Affected if LoginGraceTime is set to a non-zero value (the default is 120 seconds). A non-zero grace time allows attackers to trigger the condition by initiating connections and letting them time out.
  4. Check for active SSH connections in hung state
    Run `netstat -an | grep :22` or `ss -an | grep :22` to inspect connections on port 22. Look for connections in states such as ESTABLISHED or LAST_ACK that remain stuck for unusually long periods.
    Affected if There are multiple lingering SSH connections that appear stuck or unresponsive after the grace time has expired, indicating possible exploitation of this condition.

You are affected if you are running OpenSSH 3.6.1p2 or 3.7.1p2 with privilege separation enabled and a non-zero LoginGraceTime, and you observe stuck SSH connections.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade OpenSSH to a patched version (3.7.2 or later) that properly handles the inter-process signaling when LoginGraceTime expires. If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider reducing LoginGraceTime to limit exposure window, though upgrade is the definitive fix.

Fix this in Openssh Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-2069 — 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-2004-2069 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