CVE-2026-60002

A flaw was found in OpenSSH. A remote attacker could exploit a use-after-free vulnerability on the client side when a server changes its host key during a key re-exchange. This could lead to high impact on confidentiality and integrity, and low impact on availability.

This Important flaw in OpenSSH client could allow a malicious SSH server to execute arbitrary code on the connecting client due to a use-after-free vulnerability during host key re-exchange. While requiring a connection to a specially crafted server, the potential for high impact on client confidentiality and integrity elevates the severity beyond Moderate.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this issue, OpenSSH clients should only connect to trusted SSH servers. Enforcing strict host key checking and carefully managing known_hosts files can help prevent connections to servers with unexpected or altered host keys, thereby reducing exposure to this client-side vulnerability.