# CVE-2026-123158 (SSHole): OpenBSD OpenSSH Unexpected Status Code or Return Value


- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 9 Nov 2026 (CISA KEV)
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 5 Nov 2026
- **Updated:** 10 Nov 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-123158, AZL-112871, BELL-CVE-2026-123158, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-123158, ECHO-fc8a-d0e0-9786, GHSA-4fcc-vm97-gx3x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-123158

## What is CVE-2026-123158?

CVE-2026-123158 (SSHole) is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 5 Nov 2026. 

### Official description

sshd in OpenSSH before 10.6p2 on Linux, when musl libc is used without PAM, lacks a workaround for a password authentication bypass (related to misinterpretation of whether a string is intended to be a password hash). For some configurations of accounts, any password between 256 and 1024 characters succeeds. An example of a platform using musl libc without PAM is Alpine Linux.

Weakness: CWE-394 (Unexpected Status Code or Return Value)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-123158?

It affects 1 product.


Products: OpenSSH.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-123158?

Upgrade to a fixed version. US federal agencies must fix it by 12 Nov 2026.

## Is CVE-2026-123158 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2026-123158 in the wild since at least 9 Nov 2026.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2026-123158 SSHole — OpenSSH authentication bypass via musl crypt() overflow on Alpine Linux (Exploit PoC) (github_poc): https://github.com/gabrielunknown/CVE-2026-123158_SSHole
- Exploit para explotar la vulnerabilidad CVE-2026-123158 (conocida como sshole). (github_poc): https://github.com/Maalfer/CVE-2026-123158
- https://github.com/coboliqcom/cve-2026-123158-sshole-safe-rust (github_poc): https://github.com/coboliqcom/cve-2026-123158-sshole-safe-rust
- CVE-2026-123158 (github_poc): https://github.com/ashrafzaryouh/CVE-2026-123158
- Scanner CVE-2026-123158 *SSHHole (github_poc): https://github.com/rothoma2/cve-2026-123158-sshole
- Audit & interim mitigation for CVE-2026-123158 (*SSHole) — OpenSSH password bypass on musl/Alpine — across Docker containers, images and host (github_poc): https://github.com/ersinkoc/sshole-check

## Other vulnerabilities in OpenSSH

- [CVE-2003-0786](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0786/): The SSH1 PAM challenge response authentication in OpenSSH 3.7.1 and 3.7.1p1, when Privilege Separation is disabled, does not check the resul (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2003-0693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0693/): A "buffer management error" in buffer_append_space of buffer.c for OpenSSH before 3.7 may allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code b (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2002-0640](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0640/): Buffer overflow in sshd in OpenSSH 2.3.1 through 3.3 may allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large number of responses du (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2001-0144](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-0144/): CORE SDI SSH1 CRC-32 compensation attack detector allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on an SSH server or client via an integer overflow. (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0999/): Format string vulnerabilities in OpenBSD ssh program (and possibly other BSD-based operating systems) allow attackers to gain root privileges. (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-123158 (SSHole) and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-123158 (SSHole) is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenSSH, published on 5 Nov 2026. 
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2026-123158 in the wild since at least 9 Nov 2026.

Affected product: OpenSSH. 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-2026-123158/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-123158/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-123158
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-123158
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-123158

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-123158/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.