HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2021-41617
HIGH

CVE-2021-41617

NVD-CWE-OtherPublished: September 26, 2021· Updated: Jul 14, 2026

7.0
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

sshd in OpenSSH 6.2 through 8.x before 8.8, when certain non-default configurations are used, allows privilege escalation because supplemental groups are not initialized as expected. Helper programs for AuthorizedKeysCommand and AuthorizedPrincipalsCommand may run with privileges associated with group memberships of the sshd process, if the configuration specifies running the command as a different user.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2021-41617 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.0.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Fedora1 product(s)
fedora
netapp9 product(s)
active iq unified managerclustered data ontaphci management nodeontap select deploy administration utilitysolidfireaff a250 firmwareaff a250aff 500f firmwareaff 500f
openbsd1 product(s)
openssh
Oracle2 product(s)
http serverzfs storage appliance kit
starwindsoftware1 product(s)
starwind virtual san
Source: NVD CPE · 18 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttps://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1190975
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html
PATCHhttps://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1190975
PATCHhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211014-0004/
ADVISORYhttps://www.openssh.com/security.html
ADVISORYhttps://www.openssh.com/txt/release-8.8
ADVISORYhttps://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/09/26/1
ADVISORYhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html
ADVISORYhttps://www.starwindsoftware.com/security/sw-20220805-0001/
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211014-0004/
ADVISORYhttps://www.openssh.com/security.html
ADVISORYhttps://www.openssh.com/txt/release-8.8
ADVISORYhttps://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/09/26/1
ADVISORYhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html
ADVISORYhttps://www.starwindsoftware.com/security/sw-20220805-0001/

All References (30)

→
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1190975Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00017.html
→
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6XJIONMHMKZDTMH6BQR5TNLF2WDCGWED/
→
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KVI7RWM2JLNMWTOFK6BDUSGNOIPZYPUT/
→
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/W44V2PFQH5YLRN6ZJTVRKAD7CU6CYYET/
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211014-0004/Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5586
→
https://www.openssh.com/security.htmlVendor Advisory
→
https://www.openssh.com/txt/release-8.8Release Notes · Vendor Advisory
→
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/09/26/1Mailing List · Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.htmlPatch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlThird Party Advisory
→
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/security/sw-20220805-0001/Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/154174
→
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1190975Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2021-41617
CVSS Score7.0 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessNVD-CWE-Other
CISA KEVNo
Affected5 vendor(s)
PublishedSep 26, 2021

Related CVEs (NVD-CWE-Other)

CVE-2004-0444
10.0
CVE-2004-0420
10.0
CVE-2004-0391
10.0
CVE-2004-0385
10.0
CVE-2004-0401
10.0
CVE-2004-0469
10.0

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2021-41617 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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