OpensshApplication · OpenBSD

CVE-2026-35387

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.3 or later.
See remediation →
74/100
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
OpenSSH before 10.3 can use unintended ECDSA algorithms. Listing of any ECDSA algorithm in PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms or HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms is misinterpreted to mean all ECDSA algorithms.

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 · moderate confidence

In OpenSSH before 10.3, there is a logic flaw in how ECDSA algorithms are handled in PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms and HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms configuration directives. When a user lists even a single ECDSA algorithm (such as ecdsa-sha2-nistp256), the SSH server misinterprets this as a directive to accept ALL ECDSA algorithms, including potentially weaker or unintended variants. This bypasses the user's explicit algorithm restrictions and could allow authentication with ECDSA key types the administrator did not intend to permit.

MitigationReview and audit PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms and HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms configurations to avoid partial ECDSA algorithm listings; upgrade to OpenSSH 10.3 when available, or explicitly specify exact algorithm lists to avoid unintended all-ECDSA matching behavior.

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:< 10.3

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

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 'ssh -V' to display the version number, or check the package manager for openssh version
    Affected if Version is before 10.3 (e.g., 10.2, 10.1, etc.)
  2. Examine PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms in sshd_config
    Read /etc/ssh/sshd_config and locate the PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms directive. If commented out, the default applies
    Affected if The directive contains any ECDSA algorithm (ecdsa-sha2-nistp256, ecdsa-sha2-nistp384, ecdsa-sha2-nistp512) and especially if ONLY ECDSA algorithms are listed
  3. Examine HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms in sshd_config
    Read /etc/ssh/sshd_config and locate the HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms directive. If commented out, the default applies
    Affected if The directive contains any ECDSA algorithm and especially if ONLY ECDSA algorithms are listed
  4. Check for default algorithm behavior
    If both PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms and HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms are commented out (using defaults), defaults may include all ECDSA algorithms which could be affected
    Affected if Using defaults with ECDSA host keys and running OpenSSH < 10.3

User is affected if running OpenSSH version before 10.3 AND has any ECDSA algorithm listed in PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms or HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms, as a single listed ECDSA algorithm is misinterpreted as enabling all ECDSA algorithms.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.3 or later
Fixed in 10.3
Interim mitigation

Review and audit PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms and HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms configurations to avoid partial ECDSA algorithm listings; upgrade to OpenSSH 10.3 when available, or explicitly specify exact algorithm lists to avoid unintended all-ECDSA matching behavior.

Fix this in Openssh Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-35387 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
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