CVE-2026-35385
Openbsd Openssh ≤ 10.3
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-35385 is a high-severity Improper Preservation of Permissions (CWE-281) vulnerability in Openbsd Openssh. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 46th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-16 (Security and Privacy Attributes) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-35385 affects OpenSSH versions before 10.3, specifically the scp command. The vulnerability arises when a file is downloaded using scp executed as root with the -O option (enabling the legacy scp protocol) and without the -p option (to preserve mode bits). In this scenario, the downloaded file may be installed with setuid or setgid permissions, contrary to some users' expectations. The issue is classified under CWE-281 and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability over the network with no required privileges, though it demands high attack complexity and user interaction. The scenario involves tricking an administrator or root user into executing the vulnerable scp command with the specified flags to download a malicious file from a controlled remote server. Successful exploitation results in the file being placed with elevated setuid or setgid permissions, potentially enabling privilege escalation, unauthorized access, or execution of arbitrary code with root privileges, leading to high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts.
Advisories and release notes, including those from the OpenSSH development list, oss-security mailing list, and OpenSSH 10.3p1 release notes, recommend upgrading to OpenSSH 10.3 or later, where the behavior is fixed to prevent unintended setuid/setgid installation in this configuration.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-18398
Vulnerability Data
In OpenSSH before 10.3, a file downloaded by scp may be installed setuid or setgid, an outcome contrary to some users' expectations, if the download is performed as root with -O (legacy scp protocol) and without -p (preserve mode).
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 8 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Associating and preserving security attributes (including permissions) with objects reduces the chance they are lost or weakened on copy/restore/share.
Enforcing approved authorizations for access directly stops objects from receiving or retaining less-restrictive permissions than intended.
Least-privilege assignments limit the blast radius when permissions are incorrectly relaxed during copy/restore/share operations.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Enforcing least-privilege permission policies and reviews directly prevents incorrect permission propagation on copy/restore/share operations.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Access-control policy defines how permissions must be preserved when objects are copied or shared.
Access-rights provisioning and review processes directly address the risk of overly permissive copied objects.
Privileged-access management includes rules for maintaining correct permissions on copied or restored data.
Information-access-restriction controls enforce least-privilege permissions that must be preserved during copy/restore operations.
Change-management procedures can require verification that permissions remain intact after modifications or restores.
Configuration baselines can embed permission settings, indirectly reducing the chance of incorrect preservation.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
- V-205743 Windows Server 2019 organization created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-281
Windows Server 2022 (2 rules)
- V-254393 Windows Server 2022 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-281
- V-254395 Windows Server 2022 organization created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-281