CVE-2021-41617
A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.
- Published2021-09-26
Am I affected?
Debian, Ubuntu or Red Hat sometimes backport a fix without changing the upstream version number: such a version reads « to verify », never « affected ».With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.
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.
Timeline
dates in UTC- 2021-09-2619:15CVE publishedNVD
- 2026-10-2319:23First public proof of conceptPoC-in-GitHub
Observed activity
isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTCBlock these indicators
- Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-41617?format=txt
- CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-41617?format=csv
- TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
- The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.
Versions per branch
NVD| Branch | Affected | Fixed in | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33.x | = 33 | no fix published | NVD |
| 34.x | = 34 | no fix published | NVD |
| 35.x | = 35 | no fix published | NVD |
| Branch | Affected | Fixed in | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.2 | = 12.2.1.2.0 | no fix published | NVD |
| 12.2 | = 12.2.1.3.0 | no fix published | NVD |
| 12.2 | = 12.2.1.4.0 | no fix published | NVD |
| Branch | Affected | Fixed in | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | all versions | no fix published | NVD |
9 more products in the sources.
as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.
Distribution builds and vendor advisories
Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.
version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.
Packages
- opensshAlmaLinux:8all versions · fixed in 8.0p1-13.el8and 6 other packages
- pam_ssh_agent_authAlmaLinux:8all versions · fixed in 0.10.3-7.13.el8
Fix
Advisories and patches
- bugzilla.suse.comPatch
- www.openssh.comVendor Advisory
- www.openssh.comRelease Notes · Vendor Advisory
- www.oracle.comPatch
Detection
read 2026-10-23 19:23 UTC- Nuclei template
- none so far ProjectDiscovery
- Exploit-DB
- no entry Exploit-DB
- Proof-of-concept repositories
- 1 repository, unverifiedAdnanApriliyansyahh/CVE-2021-41617 PoC-in-GitHub
Sources
- CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2026-10-08
- OpenCVESSVC decisionnone—
- NVDCVSS 3.17read 2026-10-23
- NVDCVSS 2.04.4read 2026-10-23
- FIRST EPSSEPSS score2.5 %2026-10-22
- PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept1read 2026-10-23
- OSVaffected packages—
Technical details
- CVSS v3 Vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Published
- 2021-09-26
- Last Modified
- 2026-10-14
- NVD status
- Modified
Frequently asked questions
What is CVE-2021-41617?
Is CVE-2021-41617 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-41617?
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Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».
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Related vulnerabilities
Same product first, then the same vendor advisory and the same publication week.