CVE-2026-59996
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 · uneditedscp in OpenSSH before 10.4 may place a file in the parent directory of an intended directory when the copy occurs between two remote destinations.
In the news
Third-party coverageSurfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.
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 confidenceThe scp utility in OpenSSH before version 10.4 contains a path traversal vulnerability during remote-to-remote copies. When copying files between two remote destinations using scp, files may be placed in the parent directory of the intended destination directory instead of the intended directory itself, allowing potential unintended file placement.
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< 10.4CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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.
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Check installed OpenSSH versionRun 'scp -V' or 'ssh -V' to display the version number of the scp/ssh utilities installed on the systemAffected if The displayed version number is less than 10.4 (for example, 10.3, 10.2, etc.)
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Verify OpenBSD as the operating systemRun 'uname -a' or check '/etc/os-release' to confirm the system is running OpenBSDAffected if The system is OpenBSD and the OpenSSH version from step 1 is below 10.4
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Identify remote-to-remote scp usageReview any scripts, cron jobs, or automation that invoke scp with the syntax 'scp user1@host1:file user2@host2:path' where both source and destination are remote hostsAffected if Remote-to-remote scp copy operations are performed where files could be placed outside the intended destination directory
A system is affected if it runs OpenBSD with OpenSSH versions prior to 10.4 AND performs remote-to-remote scp copies that could place files in unintended parent directories due to the path traversal flaw.
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 · scoped10.4
Upgrade OpenSSH to version 10.4 or later to obtain the security patch for this vulnerability. Until upgraded, exercise caution when using scp for remote-to-remote copies and verify destination paths carefully.
OpenSSH 10.4
- Check current OpenSSH version using: ssh -V or openssh -V
- Upgrade OpenSSH to version 10.4 using your system's package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install openssh-client, yum update openssh, or dnf update openssh)
- If building from source, download OpenSSH 10.4 from the official OpenSSH website or GitHub repository
- Verify the upgrade was successful by running: ssh -V
- Test that scp between two remote destinations works correctly and places files in the intended directory
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-59996 — 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-2026-59996 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
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- 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
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