# CVE-2025-5351: Libssh: double free vulnerability in libssh key export functions

> A double free vulnerability in libssh key export functions can cause heap corruption and application instability, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 1 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-64653, AZL-64659, BELL-CVE-2025-5351, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-5351, GHSA-pfqf-mv4p-9j4r, JLSEC-2025-98, MINI-qx37-856f-g4jv, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-5351

## What is CVE-2025-5351?

CVE-2025-5351 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux, published on 4 Jul 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in the key export functionality of libssh. The issue occurs in the internal function responsible for converting cryptographic keys into serialized formats. During error handling, a memory structure is freed but not cleared, leading to a potential double free issue if an additional failure occurs later in the function. This condition may result in heap corruption or application instability in low-memory scenarios, posing a risk to system reliability where key export operations are performed.

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-5351?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Libssh Libssh, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Openshift Container Platform.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-5351?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-5351 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-5351 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Redhat Enterprise Linux

- [CVE-2026-59851](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-59851/): Libssh: libssh: authentication bypass via missing gssapi principal check (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-5987](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5987/): Libssh: invalid return code for chacha20 poly1305 with openssl backend (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2025-14821](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-14821/): Libssh: libssh: insecure default configuration leads to local man-in-the-middle attacks on windows (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2012-4560](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4560/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2012-4562](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4562/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-5351 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-5351 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux, published on 4 Jul 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-5351 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Redhat Enterprise 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-2025-5351/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5351/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5351
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-5351
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-5351

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5351/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.