Description
The terminal dispatcher in mosh before 1.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (long loop and CPU consumption) via an escape sequence with a large repeat count value.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | mosh | 1.2.1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | mosh | 1.2.1-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | mosh | 1.2.1-1 | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | mosh | 1.2.5-3.4 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10341-1 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- Mosh - Remote Denial of Service EDB-37306 · dos · May 22, 2012 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10341-1 mosh-1.2.5-3.4 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- FEDORA-2012-9422 vendor-advisory
- https://github.com/keithw/mosh/commit/9791768705528e911bfca6c4d8aa88139035060e
- FEDORA-2012-9414 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2012-9442 vendor-advisory
- 53646 vdb-entry
- 49260 third-party-advisory
- [oss-security] 20120522 Re: CVE Request -- mosh (and probably vte too): mosh server DoS (long loop) due improper parsing of terminal parameters in terminal dispatcher mailing-list
- https://github.com/keithw/mosh/issues/271
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=823943
- mosh-sequences-dos(75779) vdb-entry
- https://github.com/keithw/mosh/blob/master/ChangeLog