Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-60002

Memory Safety in Openbsd Openssh ≤ 10.4

Published
08 July 2026
Modified
09 July 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 7.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0030 22th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-60002 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Openbsd Openssh. Its CVSS base score is 7.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Private Keys (T1552.004); ranked at the 22th 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 SC-8 (Transmission Confidentiality and Integrity) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

ssh in OpenSSH before 10.4 can have a use-after-free when a server changes its host key during a key re-exchange. (This outcome occurs only on the client side.)

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
Why these techniques?

The use-after-free in OpenSSH client during host key re-exchange could allow an attacker to corrupt memory and potentially leak or manipulate private key material (T1552.004), but the description provides no explicit evidence of credential exposure or exploitation path.

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-57589Same vendor: Openbsd
CVE-2023-35784Same vendor: Openbsd
CVE-2025-1916Shared CWE-416
CVE-2025-1884Shared CWE-416
CVE-2024-56554Shared CWE-416
CVE-2026-9114Shared CWE-416
CVE-2023-35693Shared CWE-416
CVE-2023-42104Shared CWE-416
CVE-2021-21206Shared CWE-416
CVE-2024-47415Shared CWE-416

Affected Assets

openbsd
openssh
≤ 10.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SC-8 Transmission Confidentiality and Integrity
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • CM-6 Configuration Settings
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Enforces cryptographic integrity and confidentiality of SSH sessions, directly mitigating the use-after-free that occurs during key re-exchange when the server changes its host key.

prevent

Requires timely patching of identified flaws in system components, directly addressing the OpenSSH client vulnerability before exploitation.

prevent

Enforces secure configuration settings for cryptographic protocols and key-exchange parameters, reducing exposure to unsafe rekeying behavior.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

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.

detects

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

References