CVE-2021-41617

sshd in OpenSSH 6.2 through 8.x before 8.8, when certain non-default configurations are used, allows privilege escalation because supplemental groups are not initialized as expected. Helper programs for AuthorizedKeysCommand and AuthorizedPrincipalsCommand may run with privileges associated with group memberships of the sshd process, if the configuration specifies running the command as a different user.

Published: 2021-09-26 Last update: 2026-05-12 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-41617 is rated Moderate Risk (45.8/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.28%). Review affected assets and schedule 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-2021-41617

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 2026-02-04 0.36% 0.28% -0.07%
2 2026-02-01 0.28% 0.36% +0.07%
3 2026-01-26 — 0.28% —

Full EPSS history (45 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-41617

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.0 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
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.
 1.0 5.9 [email protected]
4.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 3.4 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-41617

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-41617

GHSA-mxh4-p4w6-g844 · Severity: high — sshd in OpenSSH 6.2 through 8.x before 8.8, when certain non-default configurations are used,...

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-41617

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2021-41617: 1 source package rows (openssh); 40 state rows across 9 repos (3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 9, open 31. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2021-41617
debian not yet assigned CVE-2021-41617 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (openssh), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-41617
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-41617
suse high CVE-2021-41617 severity important: SUSE including 410 source package names (0.7.1-rev1.0.0-build2.2.1:openssh-8.4p1-3.6.1, 0.7.1-rev1.0.0-build2.2.1:openssh-clients-8.4p1-3.6.1, …), 1345 product×package rows across 272 product lines (Container bci/golang, Container bci/nodejs, … (272 product lines)): Fixed 1179, Known Affected 166. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-41617/
ubuntu low CVE-2021-41617 low priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (openssh, openssh-ssh1), 30 status rows across 15 suites (bionic, focal, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): ignored 15, not-affected 8, released 3, DNE 2, needed 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-41617

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-41617

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
openbsd openssh >= 6.2, < 8.8 cpe:2.3:a:openbsd:openssh:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 33 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 34 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 35 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:35:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:*
netapp clustered_data_ontap — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:clustered_data_ontap:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp hci_management_node — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:hci_management_node:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp ontap_select_deploy_administration_utility — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:ontap_select_deploy_administration_utility:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp solidfire — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:solidfire:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp aff_a250_firmware — cpe:2.3:o:netapp:aff_a250_firmware:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp aff_500f_firmware — cpe:2.3:o:netapp:aff_500f_firmware:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle http_server 12.2.1.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:http_server:12.2.1.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle http_server 12.2.1.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:http_server:12.2.1.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle http_server 12.2.1.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:http_server:12.2.1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle zfs_storage_appliance_kit 8.8 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:zfs_storage_appliance_kit:8.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
starwindsoftware starwind_virtual_san v8r13 cpe:2.3:a:starwindsoftware:starwind_virtual_san:v8r13:14398:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-41617

URL Tags
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1190975 Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00017.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6XJIONMHMKZDTMH6BQR5TNLF2WDCGWED/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KVI7RWM2JLNMWTOFK6BDUSGNOIPZYPUT/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/W44V2PFQH5YLRN6ZJTVRKAD7CU6CYYET/
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211014-0004/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5586
https://www.openssh.com/security.html Vendor Advisory
https://www.openssh.com/txt/release-8.8 Release Notes Vendor Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/09/26/1 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html Third Party Advisory
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/security/sw-20220805-0001/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/154174
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html
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