# CVE-2020-15778: Command injection in n/a

> Attackers can execute arbitrary commands via malicious scp destination arguments, affecting OpenSSH users relying on scp for file transfers.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Jul 2020
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2020-15778, ALSA-2024:3166, DEBIAN-CVE-2020-15778, GHSA-cvxm-8hgf-6m6m, RHSA-2024:3166, RLSA-2024:3166, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-15778

## What is CVE-2020-15778?

CVE-2020-15778 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Broadcom Fabric Operating System, published on 24 Jul 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

scp in OpenSSH through 8.3p1 allows command injection in the scp.c toremote function, as demonstrated by backtick characters in the destination argument. NOTE: the vendor reportedly has stated that they intentionally omit validation of "anomalous argument transfers" because that could "stand a great chance of breaking existing workflows."

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-15778?

It affects 9 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `openssh` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-askpass` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-cavs` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-clients` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-keycat` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-ldap` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-server` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `pam_ssh_agent_auth` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 0.10.3-7.24.el8 |
| `openssh-askpass` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-askpass-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-cavs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-clients-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-keycat-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-ldap-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-server-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `pam_ssh_agent_auth-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:0.10.3-7.24.el8 |
| `openssh` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-askpass-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-cavs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-cavs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-clients` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-clients-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-keycat` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-keycat-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-ldap` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-ldap-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `openssh-server-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |
| `pam_ssh_agent_auth` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.10.3-7.24.el8 |
| `pam_ssh_agent_auth-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.10.3-7.24.el8 |
| `openssh` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 0:8.0p1-24.el8 |

Products: Broadcom Fabric Operating System, Netapp A700s Firmware, Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager, Netapp Hci Compute Node, Netapp Hci Management Node, Netapp Hci Storage Node, Netapp Solidfire, Netapp Steelstore Cloud Integrated Storage, OpenSSH.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-15778?

No fix published yet.

## Is CVE-2020-15778 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-15778 exists.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/cpandya2909/CVE-2020-15778 (github_poc): https://github.com/cpandya2909/CVE-2020-15778
- Exploit for CVE-2020-15778(OpenSSH vul) (github_poc): https://github.com/Neko-chanQwQ/CVE-2020-15778-Exploit
- https://github.com/yifanzhg/CVE-2020-15778 (github_poc): https://github.com/yifanzhg/CVE-2020-15778
- This script is a safe and simple tool that helps system users, students, and administrators check if their SCP (Secure Copy) client is vulnerable to CVE-2020-15778, a command injection vulnerability in OpenSSH SCP (versions ≤ 8.3p1). (github_poc): https://github.com/drackyjr/CVE-2020-15778-SCP-Command-Injection-Check

## Other vulnerabilities in Broadcom Fabric Operating System

- [CVE-2025-1976](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1976/): Broadcom Brocade Fabric OS Code Injection (high 8.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-22555](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22555/): Linux Kernel Heap Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-33186](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-33186/): Command injection in Brocade Fabric OS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-27797](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27797/): Hardcoded credentials in Brocade Fabric OS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-15371](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15371/): Code injection in Brocade Fabric OS (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-15778 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-15778 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Broadcom Fabric Operating System, published on 24 Jul 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-15778 exists.

Affected product: Broadcom Fabric Operating System. 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-2020-15778/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15778/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15778
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15778
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-15778

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15778/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.