CVE-2019-14889

A flaw was found with the libssh API function ssh_scp_new() in versions before 0.9.3 and before 0.8.8. When the libssh SCP client connects to a server, the scp command, which includes a user-provided path, is executed on the server-side. In case the library is used in a way where users can influence the third parameter of the function, it would become possible for an attacker to inject arbitrary commands, leading to a compromise of the remote target.

Published: 2019-12-10 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2019-14889 is rated High Risk (67.5/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.17%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +2.05% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-14889

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 1.12% 3.17% +2.05%
2 2026-04-29 1.03% 1.12% +0.09%
3 2026-04-04 1.03%

Full EPSS history (31 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-14889

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.1 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.2 5.9 [email protected]
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-14889

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-14889

vendor priority summary link
alpine high CVE-2019-14889: 1 source package rows (libssh); 11 state rows across 9 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 9, open 2. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2019-14889
debian not yet assigned CVE-2019-14889 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libssh), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-14889
gentoo normal CVE-2019-14889: 1 GLSA(s) (202003-27), 1 atom(s) (net-libs/libssh); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2019-14889
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-14889
suse high CVE-2019-14889 severity important: SUSE including 388 source package names (0.1.0:libssh4-0.8.7-10.9.1, 0.1.75:libssh4-0.8.7-10.9.1, …), 594 product×package rows across 210 product lines (Container bci/bci-init, Container bci/dotnet-aspnet, … (210 product lines)): Fixed 437, Known Affected 157. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-14889/
ubuntu medium CVE-2019-14889 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libssh), 6 status rows across 6 suites (bionic, disco, eoan, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 5, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-14889

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-14889

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
libssh libssh < 0.8.8 cpe:2.3:a:libssh:libssh:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
libssh libssh >= 0.9.0, < 0.9.3 cpe:2.3:a:libssh:libssh:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 16.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 18.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 19.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 19.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse leap 15.1 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 30 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 31 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle mysql_workbench <= 8.0.19 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:mysql_workbench:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-14889

URL Tags
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-12/msg00033.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00047.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-14889 Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/12/msg00020.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/05/msg00029.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/7JJWJTXVWLLJTVHBPGWL7472S5FWXYQR/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/EV2ONSPDJCTDVORCB4UGRQUZQQ46JHRN/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-27 Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4219-1/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.libssh.org/security/advisories/CVE-2019-14889.txt Vendor Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html Third Party Advisory
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