CVE-2024-6409 | Openssh: possible remote code execution due to a race condition in signal handling affecting red hat enterprise linux 9

A race condition vulnerability was discovered in how signals are handled by OpenSSH's server (sshd). If a remote attacker does not authenticate within a set time period, then sshd's SIGALRM handler is called asynchronously. However, this signal handler calls various functions that are not async-signal-safe, for example, syslog(). As a consequence of a successful attack, in the worst case scenario, an attacker may be able to perform a remote code execution (RCE) as an unprivileged user running the sshd server.

Published: 2024-07-08 Last update: 2026-04-15 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2024-6409 is rated Moderate Risk (62.3/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 76.40%, 99th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. 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-2024-6409

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 2026-05-05 76.73% 76.40% -0.33%
2 2026-04-22 76.40% 76.73% +0.33%
3 2026-03-04 76.40%

Full EPSS history (52 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-6409

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.0 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.2 4.7 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-6409

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-6409

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2024-6409 unimportant 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-2024-6409
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-6409
suse high CVE-2024-6409 severity important: SUSE including 14 source package names (openssh, openssh-8.7p1-38.el9_4.4, …), 154 product×package rows across 34 product lines (SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1, SUSE Liberty Linux 9, … (34 product lines)): Known Not Affected 148, Fixed 6. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-6409/
ubuntu medium CVE-2024-6409 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (openssh, openssh-ssh1), 14 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 12, ignored 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-6409

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-6409

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2024-6409

URL Tags
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4457
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4613
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4716
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4910
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4955
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:4960
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:5444
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-6409
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2295085
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/07/08/2
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/07/09/2
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/07/09/5
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/07/10/1
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/07/10/2
https://almalinux.org/blog/2024-07-09-cve-2024-6409/
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1227217
https://explore.alas.aws.amazon.com/CVE-2024-6409.html
https://github.com/openela-main/openssh/commit/c00da7741d42029e49047dd89e266d91dcfbffa0
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-6409
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240712-0003/
https://sig-security.rocky.page/issues/CVE-2024-6409/
https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-6409
https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-6409.html
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