CVE-2010-5107 Denial of service in n/a

High 7.5 Published 7 Mar 2013 Updated 29 May 2026

Remote attackers can exhaust connection slots by exploiting a fixed login time limit in OpenSSH, causing denial of service.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2010-5107?

CVE-2010-5107 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 7 Mar 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The default configuration of OpenSSH through 6.1 enforces a fixed time limit between establishing a TCP connection and completing a login, which makes it easier for remote attackers to cause a denial of service (connection-slot exhaustion) by periodically making many new TCP connections.

Weakness: CWE-400

Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-5107?

It affects 1 product.

Linux distribution packages (28)

`openssh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-askpass` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-clients` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-ldap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-server` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`pam_ssh_agent_auth` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client	All versions	`0:0.9.3-94.el6`
`openssh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-askpass` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-clients` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-ldap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-server` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`pam_ssh_agent_auth` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode	All versions	`0:0.9.3-94.el6`
`openssh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-askpass` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-clients` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-ldap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-server` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`pam_ssh_agent_auth` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server	All versions	`0:0.9.3-94.el6`
`openssh` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-askpass` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-clients` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-ldap` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`openssh-server` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:5.3p1-94.el6`
`pam_ssh_agent_auth` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation	All versions	`0:0.9.3-94.el6`

Products include OpenSSH.

How do I fix CVE-2010-5107?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2010-5107 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-5107 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All OpenSSH vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2010-5107, GHSA-w6q4-qg4h-298g, RHSA-2013:1591.