CVE-2020-12062

The scp client in OpenSSH 8.2 incorrectly sends duplicate responses to the server upon a utimes system call failure, which allows a malicious unprivileged user on the remote server to overwrite arbitrary files in the client's download directory by creating a crafted subdirectory anywhere on the remote server. The victim must use the command scp -rp to download a file hierarchy containing, anywhere inside, this crafted subdirectory. NOTE: the vendor points out that "this attack can achieve no more than a hostile peer is already able to achieve within the scp protocol" and "utimes does not fail under normal circumstances.

CVSS 3.1

7.5CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

EPSS

2.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days; higher than 82% of CVEs (scores of 2026-10-25)

CWE

CWE-20

Published

2020-06-01

Modified

2026-10-14

Record from

the NVD, synced 2026-10-19

Affected

• openbsd:openssh

References

• https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/955854cafca88e0cdcd3d09ca1ad4ada465364a1
• https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/aad87b88fc2536b1ea023213729aaf4eaabe1894
• https://www.openssh.com/txt/release-8.3
• https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/05/27/1
• https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/955854cafca88e0cdcd3d09ca1ad4ada465364a1

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