Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A bug in openssh_key_parser can reveal sensitive key data in an error message when a malformed key claims a field is longer than it really is. The risk is confidentiality loss, especially where parsing errors are logged or returned. The advisory says upgrade to 0.0.6; no workaround is listed.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted confidentiality issue, not a broad infrastructure emergency. Prioritize environments where this package processes user-supplied key material or where errors are exposed beyond trusted operators. Upgrade is straightforward and should be handled in the next dependency remediation cycle.
Technical view
Versions before 0.0.6 mishandle key fields whose actual length is shorter than the declared length, raising an exception that includes the raw field value. This is CWE-209, information exposure through an error message. CVSS 3.1 is 7.7, with high confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact stated.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems using the Python openssh_key_parser package before 0.0.6, especially services or automation that parse OpenSSH key files from users or lower-trust sources and expose parser errors through logs, APIs, or support diagnostics.
Exploitation context
The supplied sources do not show known active exploitation, and KEV is false. Exploitation requires an actor able to modify a key field's declared length and observe the resulting error message or a place where that error is captured.
Researcher notes
The advisory and commits indicate the fix removes raw field values from error messages. Evidence supports information disclosure only; the supplied sources do not claim code execution, privilege escalation, data modification, or availability impact. Validate both vulnerable dependency presence and error-message observability.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade openssh_key_parser to version 0.0.6 or later.
- Check vendor guidance before relying on any alternative mitigation.
- Avoid exposing parser exception text to users or shared logs.
- Review logs for historical leakage of key material from parser errors.
Validation and detection
- Inventory dependencies for openssh_key_parser versions below 0.0.6.
- Identify applications that parse OpenSSH keys from untrusted or user-controlled sources.
- Confirm error handling does not return raw parser exceptions to callers.
- Review logs and monitoring sinks for sensitive key values in exception messages.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-209: Information exposure and cloud metadata lookup
Information exposure and SSRF weaknesses can make discovery, cloud metadata, and credential material review relevant. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-31124 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/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:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N3.14Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.7HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/scottcwang/openssh_key_parser/security/advisories/GHSA-hm37-9xh2-q499CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/scottcwang/openssh_key_parser/pull/5CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/scottcwang/openssh_key_parser/commit/26e0a471e9fdb23e635bc3014cf4cbd2323a08d3CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/scottcwang/openssh_key_parser/commit/274447f91b4037b7050ae634879b657554523b39CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/scottcwang/openssh_key_parser/commit/d5b53b4b7e76c5b666fc657019dbf864fb04076cCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information
Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.