CVE-2025-14942
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 · uneditedwolfSSH’s key exchange state machine can be manipulated to leak the client’s password in the clear, trick the client to send a bogus signature, or trick the client into skipping user authentication. This affects client applications with wolfSSH version 1.4.21 and earlier. Users of wolfSSH must update or apply the fix patch and it’s recommended to update credentials used. This fix is also recommended for wolfSSH server applications. While there aren’t any specific attacks on server applications, the same defect is present. Thanks to Aina Toky Rasoamanana of Valeo and Olivier Levillain of Telecom SudParis for the report.
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 confidencewolfSSH contains a state machine vulnerability in its key exchange mechanism that allows an attacker to manipulate the protocol flow. This manipulation can cause the client to transmit its password in plaintext, trick the client into generating an invalid digital signature, or bypass user authentication entirely.
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< 1.4.22CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Detect wolfSSH installationSearch for wolfSSH binaries, libraries, or services: find /usr -name 'wolfssh*' 2>/dev/null; ps aux | grep -i wolf; dpkg -l | grep -i wolfssh or rpm -qa | grep -i wolfsshAffected if wolfSSH binaries, libraries, or related services are found on the system
-
Identify installed wolfSSH versionRun: wolfssh --version or wolfsshd -v; for libraries, check: strings libwolfssh.so | grep -i version or use:ldd --versionAffected if The version returned is less than 1.4.22 or version cannot be determined
-
Determine if SSH server uses wolfSSHCheck running SSH daemon: ps aux | grep -E 'sshd|wolfssh' and inspect /etc/ssh/sshd_config for custom binary path; examine any systemd service files referencing wolfSSHAffected if An SSH server daemon built with wolfSSH is running and version is below 1.4.22
-
Check key exchange configurationReview SSH configuration files (sshd_config, ssh_config) for KeyExchange algorithms or identity files; examine environment variables: echo $WOLFSSH_*Affected if Key exchange algorithms are configured and the wolfSSH version is vulnerable (below 1.4.22)
-
Verify client usage of wolfSSHCheck for SSH client invocations using wolfSSH: history | grep wolfssh; check for scripts or applications that call wolfssh client binaryAffected if wolfSSH client is being used to connect to remote servers and version is below 1.4.22
The environment is affected if any wolfSSH installation (client or server) with version below 1.4.22 is actively in use for SSH connections.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped1.4.22
Update wolfSSH to the patched version (post 1.4.21) and rotate all credentials that may have been exposed. This affects both client and server deployments.
wolfSSH 1.4.22
- Upgrade wolfSSH to version 1.4.22 or later by rebuilding from source or updating via your package manager
- After upgrading, rotate/update any SSH credentials (passwords, keys) that may have been exposed during the vulnerability window
- If unable to upgrade immediately, review the fix in GitHub PR #855 and apply the vendor patch to your local installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-14942 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-14942 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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