Linux Journal: View from the Trenches: Hitchhiker’s Guide to a Bug Fix

“Recently, a big flap has arisen over vulnerabilities in OpenSSH
and a new bug in OpenSSL, two packages that are cornerstones on
which secure access to Linux is built. Of course, these
vulnerabilities concern folks; many of us depend on SSH or SSL
sessions for our livelihood. We do remote administration, retrieve
e-mail and even do such mundane and ordinary tasks as pay bills. If
these services aren’t secure, we as Linux people could have a hard
time keeping peanut butter and jelly on our dinner tables.

“So the first advisory comes out, and it’s no big deal. Then
comes a followup, and a third one, and somewhere in there people
start asking, ‘Is there a replacement for this?’ Well, yes, there
are several replacements for OpenSSH, some that are compatible,
some that aren’t as compatible. Most are free, but some are
not…”

Complete
Story