What is CVE-2026-123158?
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.
The record classifies CVE-2026-123158 under weakness class CWE-394. Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw is reachable remotely over the network, needs no prior authentication, needs no user interaction, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 1 affected-product entry is recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 4 days ago.
Severity and exploitation probability
- CVSS v3.1 base score
- 8.1 — HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - EPSS (FIRST)
- 0.9% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 62.2% of all scored CVEs
- CISA KEV
- Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- Threadlinqs priority
- 8.5/10 — a Threadlinqs composite of the CVSS base score, the EPSS percentile and public exploit availability
- Published
- 2026-11-05
Is CVE-2026-123158 being exploited?
Weaponised exploit code for CVE-2026-123158 is publicly available. 10 public proof-of-concept repositories are tracked for this identifier. It currently carries a trending score of 58 in the Threadlinqs vulnerability feed.
- gabrielunknown/CVE-2026-123158_SSHole (github)
- Maalfer/CVE-2026-123158 (github)
- 0xBlackash/CVE-2026-123158 (github)
- rothoma2/cve-2026-123158-sshole (github)
- ersinkoc/sshole-check (github)
- HackSpeak/CVE-2026-123158 (github)
- halilkirazkaya/CVE-2026-123158 (github)
- coboliqcom/cve-2026-123158-sshole-safe-rust (github)
Affected products and versions
- OpenBSD: OpenSSH
How to fix CVE-2026-123158
No vendor patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2026-123158 in the tracked sources. Follow the references below for a fix, and treat the products listed above as exposed until the vendor states otherwise.
Threat activity tracking CVE-2026-123158
1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2026-123158, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.
- OpenSSH on musl libc (Alpine Linux) authentication bypass via overly long password ("*sshole") — CRITICAL · 2026-11-05
Sources
Enriched from CVE.org, NVD, FIRST EPSS, GitHub Security Advisories, public proof-of-concept repositories. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
Other references
Showing 5 of 8 recorded references.