# CVE-2019-9896: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can execute arbitrary code by placing a malicious help file in the application directory, affecting PuTTY on Windows.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x5pv-35h7-pm8q

## What is CVE-2019-9896?

CVE-2019-9896 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Opensuse Backports Sle, published on 21 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In PuTTY versions before 0.71 on Windows, local attackers could hijack the application by putting a malicious help file in the same directory as the executable.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-9896?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Opensuse Backports Sle, Opensuse Leap, Putty Putty.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-9896?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-9896 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9896 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Potential malicious code execution via CHM hijacking (CVE-2019-9896) (github_poc): https://github.com/yasinyilmaz/vuln-chm-hijack

## Other vulnerabilities in Opensuse Backports Sle

- [CVE-2020-12641](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12641/): Roundcube Webmail Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-12640](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12640/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-8233](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8233/): Command injection in EdgeSwitch firmware v1.9.0 and prior (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-8026](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8026/): inn: non-root owned files (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2020-15229](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15229/): Path traversal and files overwrite with unsquashfs (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-9896 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-9896 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Opensuse Backports Sle, published on 21 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9896 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Opensuse Backports Sle. 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-2019-9896/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9896/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-9896
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9896
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-9896

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9896/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.