CVE Intelligence
High

CVE-2021-41617 — sshd in OpenSSH 6.2 through 8.x before 8.8, when certain non-default configurations are used,...

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.

Published Sep 26, 2021 · Updated Oct 14, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: mitre

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 2.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+13
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
2.55%
ahead of 85% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Fedoraproject
Fedora and 11 more
CVSS base
7.0
High · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Fedoraproject Fedora, Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager, Netapp Aff 500f Firmware…).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Fedoraproject Fedora version 33version 34version 35 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Aff 500f Firmware versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Aff A250 Firmware versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Clustered Data Ontap versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Hci Management Node versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Ontap Select Deploy Administration Utility versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Solidfire versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Openbsd Openssh ≥ 6.2 and < 8.8 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Http Server version 12.2.1.2.0version 12.2.1.3.0version 12.2.1.4.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Zfs Storage Appliance Kit version 8.8 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Starwindsoftware Starwind Virtual San version v8r13-14398 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.0 CVSS 3.1 High 1.0 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.0 CVSS 3.1 High — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
4.4 CVSS 2.0 Medium 3.4 6.4 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 2.55%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.0
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2021
  • CVE published
    Sep 26, 2021 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

27 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Fedoraproject
every CVE for this vendor

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-106583 In ssh in OpenSSH before 10.6, a $ or \ character can occur in a command-line username, leading... 9d
  • CVE-2026-106587 Type Confusion in Openbsd Openssh 9d
  • CVE-2026-106589 In sshd in OpenSSH through 10.6, in certain environments such as QNX 6 and SCO… 9d
  • CVE-2026-106588 In sshd in OpenSSH through 10.6, use of the macOS 27 (or later) SDK has the side effect… 9d
  • CVE-2026-106582 In sshd and ssh in OpenSSH before 10.6, an LZ77 dictionary coder can be used even though… 9d
  • CVE-2026-106555 Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres in Openbsd Openssh 9d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2021-41617 is "sshd in OpenSSH 6.2 through 8.x before 8.8, when certain non-default configurations are used,...", rated High. It affects Fedora (Fedoraproject); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 2.55% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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