CVE-2020-9355

Privilege escalation via unvalidated extra SSH options

Published Feb 23, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Privilege escalation in NetworkManager-ssh before 1.2.11 allows local users to run SSH with the VPN service's privileges. The nm_ssh_start_ssh_binary path reads extra-opts from a VPN setting, splits it on spaces, and appends every token directly to the privileged ssh argument list. A local user must be able to create or modify an SSH VPN connection; crafted SSH options then execute with the service's privileges.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability2.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in NetworkManager-ssh before 1.2.11 allows local users to run SSH with the VPN service's privileges. The nm_ssh_start_ssh_binary path reads extra-opts from a VPN setting, splits it on spaces, and appends every token directly to the privileged ssh argument list. A local user must be able to create or modify an SSH VPN connection; crafted SSH options then execute with the service's privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-9355
Published
Feb 23, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 23, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo