CVE-2020-15778

HIGH

OpenSSH <= 8.3p1 - OS Command Injection via scp Destination Argument

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 5 public exploits for CVE-2020-15778. PoCs published by cpandya2909, Neko-chanQwQ, yifanzhg.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This is a writeup describing CVE-2020-15778, an authenticated command injection vulnerability in OpenSSH's scp utility (versions <= 8.3p1). The vulnerability allows remote command execution via crafted filenames due to improper sanitization in the scp command construction.

Description

scp in OpenSSH through 8.3p1 allows command injection in the scp.c toremote function, as demonstrated by backtick characters in the destination argument. NOTE: the vendor reportedly has stated that they intentionally omit validation of "anomalous argument transfers" because that could "stand a great chance of breaking existing workflows."

Exploits (5)

nomisec WRITEUP 144 stars
by cpandya2909 · poc
https://github.com/cpandya2909/CVE-2020-15778

This is a writeup describing CVE-2020-15778, an authenticated command injection vulnerability in OpenSSH's scp utility (versions <= 8.3p1). The vulnerability allows remote command execution via crafted filenames due to improper sanitization in the scp command construction.

Classification
Writeup 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSH scp <= 8.3p1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid SSH/SCP credentials · Access to a vulnerable OpenSSH scp version
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 37 stars
by Neko-chanQwQ · poc
https://github.com/Neko-chanQwQ/CVE-2020-15778-Exploit

This repository contains a Python-based exploit for CVE-2020-15778, targeting OpenSSH. The exploit generates a reverse shell payload and uses SCP to transfer and execute it on the target system. The updated version includes host status checking via nmap.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSH (specific version not specified)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid credentials for SCP access · Network access to the target · Netcat listener set up on attacker's machine
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by yifanzhg · poc
https://github.com/yifanzhg/CVE-2020-15778

This repository provides a proof-of-concept for CVE-2020-15778, a command injection vulnerability in SCP clients. It uses Docker containers to simulate an SCP server and client, demonstrating how arbitrary commands can be injected via the SCP protocol.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: SCP clients (e.g., OpenSSH SCP)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Docker installed · Network access to the target SCP server · Valid credentials for the SCP server
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 2 stars
by drackyjr · poc
https://github.com/drackyjr/CVE-2020-15778-SCP-Command-Injection-Check

This repository contains a Bash script that checks if the installed SCP version is vulnerable to CVE-2020-15778, a command injection vulnerability in OpenSSH SCP. It also allows users to test input strings for unsafe patterns like backticks.

Classification
Scanner 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSH SCP versions ≤ 8.3p1
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a system with SCP installed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
inthewild WORKING POC
poc
https://github.com/neko2sh1ro/cve-2020-15778-exploit

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2020-15778, an OpenSSH vulnerability. The exploit uses SCP to transfer a malicious shell script to the target system and execute it, resulting in a reverse shell.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSH (versions affected by CVE-2020-15778)
Auth required
Prerequisites: valid credentials for SCP access · netcat listener set up on attacker's machine
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 23, 2026 Full analysis →

Scores

CVSS v3 7.4
EPSS 0.6428
EPSS Percentile 98.5%
Attack Vector ADJACENT_NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation poc
Automatable no
Technical Impact total

Details

CWE
CWE-78
Status published
Products (10)
broadcom/fabric_operating_system
netapp/a700s_firmware
netapp/active_iq_unified_manager 9.5
netapp/hci_compute_node
netapp/hci_management_node
netapp/hci_storage_node
netapp/solidfire
netapp/steelstore_cloud_integrated_storage
openbsd/openssh 8.3 (2 CPE variants)
openbsd/openssh < 8.3
Published Jul 24, 2020
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026