CVE-2018-1000805 — paramiko
HIGHCVE-2018-1000805 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-863 vulnerability in paramiko. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for paramiko — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Paramiko Authentication Bypass vulnerability
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
paramiko🐍paramiko🐍paramiko🐍paramiko🐍paramikoReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Paramiko version 2.4.1, 2.3.2, 2.2.3, 2.1.5, 2.0.8, 1.18.5, 1.17.6 contains a Incorrect Access Control vulnerability in SSH server that can result in RCE. This attack appear to be exploitable via network connectivity.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | paramiko | ≥ 2.4.0&&< 2.4.2 | 2.4.2pip install --upgrade 'paramiko==2.4.2' |
| 🐍PyPI | paramiko | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.3 | 2.3.3pip install --upgrade 'paramiko==2.3.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | paramiko | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.4 | 2.2.4pip install --upgrade 'paramiko==2.2.4' |
| 🐍PyPI | paramiko | ≥ 2.1.0&&< 2.1.6 | 2.1.6pip install --upgrade 'paramiko==2.1.6' |
| 🐍PyPI | paramiko | ≥ 1.5.1&&< 2.0.9 | 2.0.9pip install --upgrade 'paramiko==2.0.9' |
Affected Products
ubuntu linuxcanonicaldebian linuxdebianparamikoparamikoansible towerredhatenterprise linux desktopredhatenterprise linux serverredhatResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for paramiko, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update paramiko to 2.4.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-1000805 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
This flaw is a user authentication bypass in the SSH Server functionality of paramiko (normally used by subclassing `paramiko.ServerInterface`). Where paramiko is used only for its client-side functionality (e.g. `paramiko.SSHClient`), the vulnerability is not exposed and thus cannot be exploited. The following Red…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | python-paramiko-0:1.7.5-5.el6_10 | RHSA-2018:3406 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | python-paramiko-0:2.1.1-9.el7 | RHSA-2018:3347 |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | rhvm-appliance-0:4.2-20181026.1.el7 | RHBA-2018:3497 |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | imgbased-0:1.0.29-1.el7ev | RHSA-2018:3470 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2018-1000805 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.