Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-6004 is a libssh client-side command injection flaw tied to ProxyCommand and ProxyJump handling. A malicious hostname may be inserted into those command features. Business risk is real where users or automation connect to untrusted hostnames, but public evidence provided does not show active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as scheduled remediation, not emergency response. Prioritize systems where users, CI jobs, or automation connect to hostnames supplied from tickets, inventories, external data, or other untrusted sources.
Technical view
libssh insufficiently validates hostname syntax before passing it into ProxyCommand or ProxyJump command construction. The issue is classified as CWE-74 and has CVSS 3.1 score 4.8, with local access, low privileges, and user interaction required. Red Hat lists affected libssh packages for RHEL 8 and 9; RHEL 7 status is unknown.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on systems or applications using libssh client functionality with ProxyCommand or ProxyJump enabled. The provided bundle specifically identifies Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 libssh packages as affected. RHEL 7 status is listed as unknown.
Exploitation context
The bundle supports a constrained attack scenario: an attacker needs a path to influence the hostname parameter and a user or process must invoke the relevant proxy feature. KEV is false, and no cited source in the bundle confirms active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strongest for libssh client proxy feature command injection and Red Hat package impact. The bundle does not provide exploit samples, fixed version detail, or proof of exploitation. Avoid expanding impact beyond named libssh, RHEL, Fedora, and NetApp advisory references without vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory libssh usage on RHEL 8 and RHEL 9 systems.
- Review RHSA-2024:2504 and RHSA-2024:3233 for applicable vendor updates.
- Check libssh upstream advisory guidance before changing proxy behavior.
- Restrict use of ProxyCommand and ProxyJump with untrusted hostnames.
- Validate or constrain hostnames accepted by internal tooling.
Validation and detection
- Identify installed libssh package versions on managed Linux assets.
- Find applications or scripts using libssh ProxyCommand or ProxyJump.
- Review SSH workflows where users enter or import hostnames.
- Confirm vendor advisory applicability for each platform.
- Track RHEL 7 separately because status is unknown in the bundle.
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-74: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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-2023-6004 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
- 4.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L1.33.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- RHSA-2024:2504CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2024:3233CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-6004CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2251110CVE reference · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://www.libssh.org/security/advisories/CVE-2023-6004.txtCVE reference
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/LZQVUHWVWRH73YBXUQJOD6CKHDQBU3DM/CVE reference · x_transferred
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240223-0004/CVE reference · x_transferred
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MKQRBF3DWMWPH36LBCOBUTSIZRTPEZXB/CVE 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.
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.