# CVE-2019-6111: Path traversal in n/a

> A malicious scp server can overwrite arbitrary files on the client, potentially leading to privilege escalation via authorized_keys manipulation.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 31 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2019-6111, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-6111, DSA-4387-2, GHSA-jr78-hfw4-xp7g, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-6111, USN-3885-2

## What is CVE-2019-6111?

CVE-2019-6111 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 31 Jan 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in OpenSSH 7.9. Due to the scp implementation being derived from 1983 rcp, the server chooses which files/directories are sent to the client. However, the scp client only performs cursory validation of the object name returned (only directory traversal attacks are prevented). A malicious scp server (or Man-in-The-Middle attacker) can overwrite arbitrary files in the scp client target directory. If recursive operation (-r) is performed, the server can manipulate subdirectories as well (for example, to overwrite the .ssh/authorized_keys file).

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-6111?

It affects 19 products.


Products: Apache Mina Sshd, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Freebsd Freebsd, Fujitsu M10-1 Firmware, Fujitsu M10-4 Firmware, Fujitsu M10-4s Firmware, Fujitsu M12-1 Firmware, Fujitsu M12-2 Firmware, Fujitsu M12-2s Firmware, OpenSSH, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux Eus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Aus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Tus, Siemens Scalance X204rna Eec Firmware, Siemens Scalance X204rna Firmware, Winscp Winscp.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-6111?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2019-6111 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2019-6111 exists.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2019-6111 vulnerability exploitation (github_poc): https://github.com/53n7hu/SNP
- OpenSSH SCP Client - Write Arbitrary Files (exploitdb)
- SCP Client - Multiple Vulnerabilities (SSHtranger Things) (exploitdb)
- Case Study: SSHtranger Things (CVE-2019-6111, CVE-2019-6110) in Cisco SD-WAN (github_poc): https://github.com/mbadanoiu/MAL-008

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2026-56452](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56452/): Apache MINA SSHD: Path traversal in SCP file reception (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-56624](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56624/): Apache MINA SSHD: SSH certificate options lack validations (high 7.3)
- [CVE-2026-56623](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56623/): Apache MINA SSHD: Path traversal in org.apache.sshd:sshd-git on Windows (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2026-48827](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48827/): Apache MINA SSHD: Path traversal in org.apache.sshd:sshd-git (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2024-41909](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-41909/): Apache MINA SSHD: integrity check bypass (medium 5.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-6111 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-6111 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 31 Jan 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2019-6111 exists.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6111/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6111/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-6111
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-6111
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-6111

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6111/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.