# CVE-2026-0968: Libssh: libssh: denial of service due to malformed sftp message

> A malicious SFTP server can cause a denial of service in libssh clients by sending a malformed message that triggers a null dereference.

- **Severity:** Low 3.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-81849, BELL-CVE-2026-0968, CLSA-2026-1776178207, CLSA-2026-1776181240, CLSA-2026-1776262694, CLSA-2026-1776361748, CLSA-2026-1776362968, CLSA-2026-1776701249, CLSA-2026-1776703400, CLSA-2026-1776705065, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-0968, ECHO-fc76-5c23-c989, GHSA-6w3m-r3qq-cr2h, JLSEC-2026-783, MINI-89rh-3x6r-p8xm, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-0968

## What is CVE-2026-0968?

CVE-2026-0968 is a low-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux, published on 26 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A flaw was found in libssh in which a malicious SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) server can exploit this by sending a malformed 'longname' field within an `SSH_FXP_NAME` message during a file listing operation. This missing null check can lead to reading beyond allocated memory on the heap. This can cause unexpected behavior or lead to a denial of service (DoS) due to application crashes.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-0968?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Libssh Libssh, Redhat Enterprise Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-0968?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-0968 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-0968 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-2026-0968 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-0968 is a low-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux, published on 26 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-0968 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-2026-0968/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0968/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-0968
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-0968
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-0968

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0968/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.