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Not in CISA KEV

GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h

GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h is a Path Traversal vulnerability in asyncssh. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

AsyncSSH `AuthorizedKeysFile %u` path traversal allows attacker-selected authorized keys to authenticate a traversal username

Also known asCVE-2026-45309PYSEC-2026-2384
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
Jul 13, 2026
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Aug 24, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

  • CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
  • CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs36th percentile — riskier than 36% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected
🐍asyncssh

Real-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

Summary

AsyncSSH 2.22.0 expands the OpenSSH-compatible AuthorizedKeysFile %u token with the raw SSH username during pre-authentication server config reload. A server configured with a documented per-user key pattern such as AuthorizedKeysFile authorized_keys/%u can be made to read an authorized-keys file outside the intended directory when the SSH username contains path traversal segments. If the attacker can place or reference a readable authorized-keys-format file containing their public key, the attacker can authenticate over SSH as the traversal username.

Affected Product

  • Package: asyncssh
  • Ecosystem: pip
  • Affected versions: confirmed on 2.22.0; exact lower bound not finalized
  • Tested version: 2.22.0
  • Audit commit/tag: tag v2.22.0, commit af5a81e669633d83d535163f93b6bf3f957c9238
  • PyPI sdist SHA256: c3ce72b01be4f97b40e62844dd384227e5ff5a401a3793007c42f86a5c8eb537

Vulnerability Details

  • CWE: CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory
  • Component: AsyncSSH server config reload and public-key authentication (asyncssh/config.py, asyncssh/connection.py, asyncssh/auth_keys.py, asyncssh/misc.py)
  • Root cause: %u in AuthorizedKeysFile is expanded from the remote username without rejecting path separators or .. segments, and the resulting path is opened without constraining it to the intended authorized-keys directory.
  • Security boundary violated: the configured authorized-keys directory and public-key authentication trust boundary.
  • Direct impact: public-key authentication succeeds using an attacker-selected authorized-keys file outside the intended directory.
  • Chain impact, if any: none claimed; direct authentication impact is primary.

Attack Preconditions

  • The AsyncSSH server uses a config or equivalent pattern where AuthorizedKeysFile contains %u, for example AuthorizedKeysFile authorized_keys/%u.
  • Public-key authentication is enabled.
  • The attacker can place or reference a readable authorized-keys-format file outside the intended directory, such as a file in a world-writable or application-writable location.
  • The application does not separately reject usernames containing /, \, or .. before AsyncSSH uses the username for key-file selection.

Reproduction

The run-scoped evidence contains a safe localhost proof:

  1. Start the proof harness saved at harness_app.py

  2. Run exploit_proof.py through run_proof.sh

  3. The harness creates sshd_config with AuthorizedKeysFile authorized_keys/%u, writes the attacker's public key to a file outside authorized_keys/, starts a real AsyncSSH server, and attempts two SSH logins.

  4. Expected result: the normal username victim fails, while the traversal username authenticates with the same attacker key.

Observed proof output:

[CONTROL] username=victim success=False
[ATTACK] username=../../../asyncssh-proof-exploit-proof-8b2bd23daeeb.pub success=True
[ATTACK] output=AUTH_BYPASS_SUCCESS username=../../../asyncssh-proof-exploit-proof-8b2bd23daeeb.pub
PASS: traversal username authenticated with attacker-controlled authorized_keys file

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐍PyPIasyncssh2.22.0&&< 2.23.02.23.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for asyncssh. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

  2. Fix

    Update asyncssh to 2.23.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

## Summary AsyncSSH 2.22.0 expands the OpenSSH-compatible `AuthorizedKeysFile` `%u` token with the raw SSH username during pre-authentication server config reload. A server configured with a documented per-user key pattern such as `AuthorizedKeysFile authorized_keys/%u` can be made to read an authorized-keys file outside the intended directory when the SSH username contains path traversal segments. If the attacker can place or reference a readable authorized-keys-format file containing their public key, the attacker can authenticate over SSH as the traversal username. ## Affected Product - Pa
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

GHSA-g794-3fmp-753h: asyncssh Path… | O3 Security