Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability affects OpenSSH scp clients that trust and display arbitrary server error output. A malicious server or man-in-the-middle can alter what the user sees, potentially hiding unexpected file transfers. It requires user interaction and a malicious or intercepted connection, so urgency is moderate, not emergency-level.
Executive priority
Prioritize normal vulnerability remediation for developer workstations, admin jump hosts, and automation systems that use scp. Escalate only where users routinely pull files from untrusted servers or sensitive file-transfer workflows depend on scp output for trust decisions.
Technical view
CVE-2019-6110 is an scp client output-manipulation issue in OpenSSH 7.9. The client accepts stderr from the server and displays it, allowing ANSI control sequences to obscure terminal output. The CVSS vector shows network attack, high complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, and high confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on systems or workflows using affected OpenSSH scp clients to copy files from servers that may be malicious, compromised, or reachable through interceptable networks. The source bundle does not provide a complete affected version matrix.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided data, so active exploitation is not established here. A public Exploit-DB reference exists, which indicates public exploit information, but this assessment does not infer current real-world exploitation from that alone.
Researcher notes
The key issue is terminal-output deception, not direct remote code execution. Validation should focus on client behavior, affected OpenSSH packaging, and vendor downstream advisories. Evidence is incomplete for exact affected product scope beyond OpenSSH 7.9 and listed vendor references.
Mitigation direction
- Apply vendor-provided OpenSSH or platform security updates for CVE-2019-6110.
- Check NetApp, Gentoo, Siemens, and OS vendor advisories for affected products.
- Avoid using scp with untrusted or newly provisioned servers until patched.
- Prefer safer vendor-recommended transfer workflows where available.
- Treat unexpected scp terminal output or file lists as potentially misleading.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints and automation using OpenSSH scp clients.
- Identify OpenSSH 7.9 or vendor-declared affected packages.
- Review file-transfer workflows involving third-party, temporary, or untrusted servers.
- Confirm patched package versions through vendor security advisories.
- Check whether compensating controls reduce man-in-the-middle exposure.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-838: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-6110 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N1.65.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190213-0001/CVE reference
- https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/src/usr.bin/ssh/scp.cCVE reference
- https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/src/usr.bin/ssh/progressmeter.cCVE reference
- https://sintonen.fi/advisories/scp-client-multiple-vulnerabilities.txtCVE reference
- 46193CVE reference · exploit
- GLSA-201903-16CVE reference · vendor-advisory
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-412672.pdfCVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Inappropriate Encoding for Output Context
Inappropriate Encoding for Output Context represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.