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Ssh2Application · Ssh2 Project

CVE-2020-26301

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.4.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
ssh2 is client and server modules written in pure JavaScript for node.js. In ssh2 before version 1.4.0 there is a command injection vulnerability. The issue only exists on Windows. This issue may lead to remote code execution if a client of the library calls the vulnerable method with untrusted input. This is fixed in version 1.4.0.

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

The ssh2 library for Node.js contains a command injection vulnerability in versions prior to 1.4.0 that affects Windows platforms only. The vulnerability allows remote code execution when a client application calls the vulnerable method with untrusted input, as the library fails to properly sanitize input before passing it to system commands.

MitigationUpgrade ssh2 to version 1.4.0 or later. Review all code paths that pass user-controlled input to ssh2 methods and ensure proper input validation is applied, especially on Windows deployments.

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
Ssh2Application
Affected:< 1.4.0

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 if ssh2 is installed as a dependency
    Examine your project's package.json file and look for 'ssh2' in the dependencies or devDependencies section, or run 'npm list ssh2' in your project directory
    Affected if ssh2 is listed as a dependency
  2. Determine the installed version of ssh2
    Run 'npm list ssh2' or check the version field in node_modules/ssh2/package.json. Compare this version number against the affected range of versions prior to 1.4.0
    Affected if The installed version is less than 1.4.0
  3. Confirm the deployment platform is Windows
    Check the operating system where the Node.js application runs using 'node -e "console.log(process.platform)"' or systeminfo. The vulnerability affects Windows platforms only
    Affected if The application runs on a Windows platform
  4. Identify code paths passing input to ssh2 methods
    Review your codebase for invocations of ssh2 methods (such as connect or shell) and trace whether any user-controlled or untrusted input flows into these method calls
    Affected if User-supplied or untrusted input is passed directly to ssh2 methods without sanitization

You are affected only if ssh2 version is below 1.4.0, your application runs on Windows, and your code passes unsanitized user input to ssh2 methods.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.4.0 or later
Fixed in 1.4.0
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade ssh2 to version 1.4.0 or later. Review all code paths that pass user-controlled input to ssh2 methods and ensure proper input validation is applied, especially on Windows deployments.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.4.0

  1. Check the current version of ssh2 in your project by running 'npm list ssh2' or inspecting package.json
  2. Upgrade ssh2 to version 1.4.0 or later using 'npm install [email protected]' or 'npm install ssh2@latest'
  3. Run 'npm install' to update package-lock.json with the new version
  4. Test your application to ensure the upgrade does not break existing functionality

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

Fix this in Ssh2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,900
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,640.

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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-2020-26301 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