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What's new in this version:

Bitvise SSH Client 8.22
- Change log not available for this version


Bitvise SSH Client 8.21

- The graphical SSH Client's terminal window for xterm (and other non-bvterm terminals) implements a Select mode intended to behave like the Windows console's QuickEdit mode. A difference was catching users off-guard: canceling a mouse text selection with an arbitrary key press would not send the key to the server. For users who began a selection without noticing, it appeared as though the terminal window was eating a key press for no reason. Consistently with the Windows console, the SSH Client will now send key presses that cancel a selection to the server
- In previous versions, if the graphical SSH Client failed to load a profile specified on the command line, it would fall back to the last used profile and still act on the -loginOnStartup parameter if also provided. This would result in bewildering behavior. If a profile specified on the command line fails to load, the SSH Client now loads the default profile (stored in the Windows registry) and ignores -loginOnStartup
- In previous 8.xx versions, loading an SSH Client profile from a network share would fail when the ZoneId alternative data stream could not be opened. If the ZoneId ADS cannot be opened, a profile will now be loaded as if its origin is the local computer
- We have identified niche situations where one-click Remote Desktop forwarding might fail to start when an SSH Client DLL is not found. To resolve this, this version makes changes to how the Remote Desktop client is started
- There exist SSH clients which, in violation of RFC 4254, disconnect if a server sends a global request after successful authentication. A server might send a global request for purposes such as host key synchronization or disconnect detection. If the server supports RFC 8308, then to indicate it supports global requests, the SSH Client will include the extension global-requests-ok in its SSH_MSG_EXT_INFO
- In previous 8.xx versions, the SSH Client would not import RSA private and public keys larger than 8192 bits. This limit is once again 16384 bits
- The SSH Client installer will now offer to wait instead of exiting when another Bitvise installation is already in progress
- Slightly improved the user friendliness of the installer and uninstaller for command-line installations


Bitvise SSH Client 8.19
- In previous 8.xx versions, the icons for the New terminal console, New SFTP window and New Remote Desktop actions were too similar. The SSH Client now sports updated icons that are easier to distinguish
- In previous 8.xx versions, when the SSH Client reconnected after losing a connection, it failed to continue ongoing transfers. Fixed
- SFTP interface: When connecting to SFTP servers that support synchronization using the SFTP v6 extensions check-file-name, check-file-handle and check-file-blocks, the resume and overwrite modes are now more clearly overridden by synchronize in the SFTP user interface
- sftpc: When connecting to SFTP servers that support synchronization, the -r and -o options for get and put commands now both act as aliases for synchronize. Previously, only -o acted as an alias for synchronize, and -r was unavailable


Bitvise SSH Client 8.18
- In previous 8.xx versions, if the system clock was moved back after a check for updates (in UTC, not time zone specific), an automatic check would be repeated with high frequency. This could consume 80 kbps in bandwidth while the graphical SSH Client was running until the clock caught up. Fixed.
- In previous 8.xx versions, an automatic check for updates would be performed if the graphical SSH Client was run with -noRegistry. An automatic check is no longer performed in this situation, but can be performed manually


Bitvise SSH Client 8.17
- In version 8.15, loading a profile which was last saved by a previous version would cause the SSH Client to send an invalid elevation extension value to the server. This caused SSH Server versions 8.xx to disconnect. The SSH Client will now send a valid elevation extension value in this circumstance
- The Remote Desktop forwarding feature Use SSH login credentials would previously work only if the password authentication method was used for client authentication, but it did not work for password authentication over keyboard-interactive. This will now also work with password over keyboard-interactive
- In the graphical SSH Client, on the Login tab, setting Initial method to password could result in unintuitive behavior. Password change was not easily discoverable, and setting Initial method to password without entering a password caused the SSH Client to send an empty password at start of connection, incurring an authentication penalty
- This has been redesigned so that Initial method can be set to password without entering a password. In this case, a password dialog will dependably appear when connecting. As part of this change, it is no longer possible to enter a password on the Login tab without enabling Store encrypted password in profile
- In version 8.15, in command line clients, the -keypairFile parameter did not override a public key configured as an initial authentication method in a profile specified using -profile. The -keypairFile parameter will now once again override any public key configured in the profile


Bitvise SSH Client 8.15

Highlights:
- The SSH Client now supports automatic updates. An administrator can configure the SSH Client to automatically apply all updates; only recommended updates; only strongly recommended updates; to apply updates only manually; or to never check for updates
- Currently, the SSH Client does not install an update service. It needs to be started from time to time by an administrative user in order to apply updates
- The graphical SSH Client and sftpc now support recursive directory mirroring. A directory and all of its subdirectories and files can be synchronized either in the upload or download direction. The SSH Client can synchronize updated files and detect and automatically remove files and directories from the target location that are not present in the source
- The graphical SSH Client and sftpc can now display hashes (cryptographic digests) of local and remote files if the server supports the SFTP v6 check-file extension
- Bitvise SSH Client and SSH Server now implement automatic host key rotation. The SSH Client will synchronize keys from the SSH Server and any other servers that support the OpenSSH mechanism "hostkey update and rotation". The SSH Server will announce to clients all configured host keys, including those not employed, to facilitate host key rotation. The SSH Client will automatically trust new keys announced by a trusted server and remove any keys the server has removed, as long as they were added automatically
- The SSH Client now supports high resolutions and will display crisp text on high-DPI displays such as retina or 4K. The SSH Client now comes with new, higher resolution icons
- SSH Client profiles downloaded from the internet will now be considered unsafe. If a profile is marked by a browser using which it was downloaded as originating from an unsafe zone, the SSH Client will now load safe parts only. When loading a profile interactively in the graphical SSH Client, a prompt will be displayed, allowing the user to mark the profile as safe. If the user confirms, the profile can be fully loaded

Cryptography:
- Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client and FlowSsh once again support non-standard DSA keys larger than 1024 bits. We do not recommend using these keys, and new keys of this type cannot be generated. Also, these keys cannot be used when FIPS mode cryptography is enabled in Windows. Re-adding support for these keys is intended to resolve an obstacle that may still be preventing some users of 6.xx versions from upgrading
- When using Windows cryptography, Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client and FlowSsh now implement a backup strategy for DH and ECDH key exchange. Windows implements key exchange, but it does not expose the agreed value in a form suitable for SSH. Bitvise software must retrieve the value by carefully traversing undocumented Windows structures. In versions 7.xx, this required our software to be upgraded to continue working after the Windows 10 1803 update. Our software will now log a warning and fall back to Crypto++ if it cannot perform key exchange because Windows internal structures have changed. However: if FIPS mode is enabled in Windows, this backup strategy is not used, and the software must be updated
- When importing keys, such as from files, the stage at which an import failed is now described in more detail

SSH session:
- Bitvise SSH Server and Client now support the elevation extension. In previous versions, if a Windows account with administrative rights connected to the SSH Server, the server would always elevate the session if possible. Otherwise, the user would not be able to get an elevated session because there was no way to convey the user's preference. With the elevation extension, the user can request a non-administrative security context by requesting no elevation (elevation is still applied by default). In command line clients including stermc, sexec and sftpc, this is controlled using the switch -elevation=n
- Bitvise SSH Server and Client now support the no-flow-control extension. This disables SSH flow control for clients that only support opening one channel. No flow control is now preferred by sftpc, stermc, sexec and spksc, which only need to open one channel in the SSH session. The graphical SSH Client does not support no-flow-control because it requires multiple channels
- Bitvise SSH Server and Client now support the ext-auth-info extension. This allows the server to respond to user authentication failures with more detailed information in situations where this is safe. For example, if the client attempts to perform a password change but the new password does not meet complexity requirements, the server can communicate this instead of making the user guess
- Bitvise SSH Server and Client now support the delay-compression extension. Delayed compression reduces attack surface for unauthenticated clients by delaying availability of compression until after a user is authenticated. The delay-compression extension is an improvement over previously supported alternatives: the [email protected] method contains a by-design race condition, while the approach of invoking a second key exchange doubles the overhead of establishing an SSH session

Terminal:
- Settings for the graphical xterm/vt100 terminal console window (totermw) are now stored in the SSH Client profile instead of in the Windows registry

SFTP:
- In the graphical SFTP interface, the Open and Edit commands will now be much more responsive if a transfer is already in progress. The in-progress transfer will be paused and the file associated with the Open or Edit command will be transferred as a priority
- Both the graphical SFTP interface and sftpc can now work with local paths longer than 259 characters, as well as unsafe paths not permitted by Windows in some contexts (e.g. "C:Com1file")
- A new file transfer mode, TextLf, is now supported. This works the same as AutoLf, but forces newline conversions without relying on file type detection

Tunneling:
- The SSH Client now displays the country (if available) of remote IP addresses. The SSH Client uses the MaxMind GeoLite2 Country database (under license). The country database comes with the SSH Client installation and is not automatically updated, other than by updating the SSH Client itself.

Command line clients:
- It is now easier to connect to SSH servers that accept connections on non-default ports. If no port is specified on the command line, but the SSH Client knows a host key for the destination server, the SSH Client will automatically connect to the port associated with the server in the host key database. If there are multiple port associations, however, the port still needs to be specified, unless one of them is 22.
- It is now easier to enable and disable individual algorithms with our command-line clients. Previously, to use non-default algorithms, either a -profile needed to be used, or a complete algorithm list had to be supplied using -hkey, -kex, -encr or -mac. It is now still possible to pass a whole list using the same parameters, or using their new aliases -hkeyAlgs, -kexAlgs, -encrAlgs or -macAlgs. In addition, it is possible to modify the default algorithm lists using -hkeyMod, -kexMod, -encrMod or -macMod. When using the "Mod" versions, provide a comma-separated list of algorithm names with optional prefixes. Names prefixed with "+" are added to the front of the list; names without a prefix are appended to the end; and names prefixed with "!" are removed. Example: -encrMod=+aes256-gcm,!3des-ctr

Utilities:
- The log utility now supports filesystem paths in Unicode


Bitvise SSH Client 7.46
- After the SSH session has been terminated by receiving EOF or sending SSH_MSG_DISCONNECT, FlowSsh will now discard any further outgoing SSH packets. This helps avoid a stall in processing and further improves the odds that all previously received data will be processed.
- File transfer: Fixed an issue where, if the connection was lost during a download while synchronization was being performed, the local file size would be reset to zero.
- stermc: Improved handling of default colors configured in -profile or using the -colors parameter when using non-bvterm terminals such as xterm or vt100. The screen is now cleared using the configured colors.


Bitvise SSH Client 7.45
- Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client, and FlowSsh previously did not implement strict size limits or sanitization of content before displaying or logging strings received from a remote party. Much stricter size limits and sanitization are now implemented
- Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client, and FlowSsh now report the size of the Diffie Hellman group actually used in DH key exchange. This is useful with key exchange methods that use DH group exchange, where there was previously no straightforward way to know what size group was used
- Importing an empty public key file would cause the SSH Client's Host key manager to hang indefinitely. Fixed.
- When loading an SSH Client profile, the SSH Client's Remote Desktop tab failed to update the Remote Desktop width and/or height if the new value was 0 (the default value). Fixed.


Bitvise SSH Client 7.44
- Cryptography: Implemented support for changes in Windows internal cryptographic structures in Windows Insider Preview Build 17704. This build was released to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring on June 27, 2018
- Users who need to use earlier versions of our software on new Windows builds that change internal structures can work around compatibility issues by using the following key exchange algorithms: Curve25519, ECDH over nistp256k1. These key exchange methods do not rely on Windows cryptography; however, our software does not provide them if FIPS mode is enabled in Windows. Other key exchange methods require upgrading our software to a version that supports the new Windows build


Bitvise SSH Client 7.43
File transfer:
- Fixed issues in past Bitvise software versions that resulted in incorrect file times when using subsecond times with SFTP protocol versions 4 and 6. This would result in incorrect last modified times after a file transfer which affected, on average, about one in several hundred files. Affected files would receive a last modified timestamp incorrect by up to 7+ minutes

Authentication:
- Fixed issues in password change dialog behavior if the original password was modified

Installation:
- Updated installer and uninstaller manifests to reduce the likelihood that Windows will incorrectly run the Program Compatibility Assistant during or after installation. This mainly affects older Windows versions such as Windows 7


Bitvise SSH Client 7.42
- The End User License Agreement has been updated to try to bring it closer to the requirements of states and their contractors. Terms are otherwise unchanged. Situations in which licenses can be transferred are now laid out so that no permission will be needed in most cases
- The SSH Client now includes a new build of the SSH Server Remote Control Panel (WRC) for use with SSH Server versions 7.21 and above. The new build incorporates improvements to the SSH Server Control Panel since version 7.26
- The SSH Client continues to include older versions of the Remote Control Panel for use with older SSH Server versions. Those remain unchanged
- The graphical SSH Client will no longer mark a profile as changed when a password is changed, but the password is not configured to be saved in the profile


Bitvise SSH Client 7.41
- This is not a new feature release, but a successor to 7.39 with continued maintenance updates. (We skip over versions containing zeros to avoid ambiguities. For example, 7.04 and 7.40 might both be referred to as "7.4")
- This version continues an upgrade amnesty. Any Bitvise SSH Client activation code that could activate a previous 7.xx version will also activate this version

SSH:
- Fixed an issue in zlib compression provided by the Crypto++ library. There existed a race condition which could cause data to be decompressed incorrectly in specific circumstances. (The circumstances required for this to happen do not appear to exist in the graphical Bitvise SSH Client or its command line clients)
- Fixed a denial of service attack vector. This remains to be described in more detail

File transfer:
- When performing unattended file transfers, the command line client sftpc would previously send a fire-and-forget SSH_FXP_CLOSE message followed by immediately closing the SFTP channel and the SSH session. Depending on circumstances such as network latency, Bitvise SSH Server versions up to and including 7.39 could fail to process the SSH_FXP_CLOSE request and incorrectly log that the final transfer may not have completed as intended. This has been fixed in the SSH Server with version 7.41. But also, sftpc will no longer send a fire-and-forget SSH_FXP_CLOSE before exiting
- In the SFTP interface of the graphical SSH Client, in the Move to... dialog, removed a limit that incorrectly prevented entering more than a fixed number of characters. This prevented use of the Move to feature with long paths and file names


Bitvise SSH Client 7.39
- SFTP: In past 7.xx versions, Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh would perform a Resume check regardless of the type of server if Overwrite was enabled for upload. We suspect this could cause creation of an empty file with the same name on servers that support creation of multiple files with the same name.
- The Resume check will no longer be performed when connected to a server that does not support SFTP v6 check-file and check-file-blocks extensions. With a server that supports these extensions, the Resume check will continue to be performed for Overwrite, since in this case Resume and Overwrite are the same operation.


Bitvise SSH Client 7.36

Development, licensing, and US export control:
- This is the first version of Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client, and FlowSsh published from the United States.
- All assets, operations, relationships, and agreements related to Bitvise software development and licensing; including license agreements for use of Bitvise software by users; have been transferred from Bitvise Limited incorporated in Gibraltar, to Bitvise Limited now incorporated in Texas.
- Final builds are now performed in Texas. Our software development continues in Slovenia, Germany, and Hungary, and may include developers elsewhere in the future.
- This move is an administrative change. Our development, ownership, pricing, support, terms and policies and relationship to customers generally remain the same.
- For the purpose of export from the United States, our SSH Server, SSH Client and FlowSsh are self-classified as Mass-Market products using the ECCN 5D992, with the encryption authorization type identifier MMKT. These denote eligibility under License Exception ENC § 740.17(b)(1) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
- Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client, and FlowSsh now come with new license agreements. Users must review the new EULAs, even though the terms remain substantially the same. We apologize for this inconvenience, and have attempted to draft the agreements in a way that this might not be necessary very often.

SSH:
- Windows 10 version 1709, OS build 17046.1000, changed internal Windows structures in a way that prevented Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client, and FlowSsh from obtaining the agreed value in DH or ECDH key exchange. This prevented successful SSH connections using this new Windows build. Fixed.
- There exist SSH implementations based on WeOnlyDo, e.g. freeSSHd, which might not send failure description and language tag fields when sending an SSH_MSG_CHANNEL_OPEN_FAILURE message. Bitvise SSH Server, SSH Client and FlowSsh will now behave as though these fields were sent as empty strings, instead of disconnecting due to an unexpected packet format.

sexec:
- Now supports the command line parameter -git, which is shorthand for the new parameters -cmdQuoted and -exitZero. This allows sexec to be more easily configured for use with Git.
- Now supports the command line parameter -cmdQuoted. This can be used when the remote command to execute is provided outside of the -cmd=... parameter, but is enclosed in single or double quotes.
- Now supports the command line parameter -exitZero. If the remote command executes and returns exit code 0, this will cause sexec to return exit code 0 as well.
- Now supports the command line parameter -p . This can be used to specify the port number instead of -port=.
- Fixed an issue which would cause sexec to interpret as its own parameter a port number passed as part of the remote command to be executed. This could cause sexec to fail, or to connect to the SSH server on an unintended port.


Bitvise SSH Client 7.35

SFTP GUI:
- Fixed an issue which would cause a crash when all files are removed from the download or upload queue.
- Fixed visual artifacts that would arise while resizing in the SFTP Download or Upload window.

SFTP compatibility:
- We have identified two compatibility issues in current and past versions of mod_sftp for ProFTPD:
- When using SFTP versions 4-6, when a client requests attributes not supported by mod_sftp, the server returns an incorrectly encoded response. With past Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh versions, this would result in a disconnect.
- When using SFTP version 6, mod_sftp indicates support for the check-file extensions, but disconnects if the client requests the server to hash a larger file block by block. This prevents Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh from performing hash-based synchronization of file content, which would normally be used instead of Resume or Overwrite if check-file extensions can be used.
- We expect these issues to be resolved in future mod_sftp versions. However, mod_sftp now comes configured by default to not send its version in the SSH version string. A client therefore cannot distinguish between a newer version that will contain these fixes, and an older version which does not.
- At this time, Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh will avoid the known compatibility issues by restricting SFTP protocol version to 3 when mod_sftp is detected. We would like to lift this restriction in the future if there arises a way to detect the mod_sftp version early enough.

We have identifed a compatibility issue with Van Dyke VShell:
- When using SFTP version 6, the VShell server indicates support for the check-file extensions, but does not support block-by-block hashing. This prevents Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh from performing hash-based synchronization of file content, which would normally be used instead of Resume or Overwrite if check-file extensions can be used.
- At this time, hash-based synchronization will be avoided when connecting to VShell, and Resume and Overwrite will be used instead.
- If VShell chooses to implement support for block-by-block hashing, Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh will once more use this functionality if the server advertises the extension name check-file-blocks in its supported2 packet.
- Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh will now recognize the check-file extension indicator in the supported2 packet as required by the SFTP extensions draft, in addition to check-file-name and check-file-handle.
- Bitvise SSH Client and FlowSsh will now recognize a check-file-blocks extension sent by servers. We suggest that future SFTP server implementations advertise support for check-file-blocks if all of the following are true:
- The server supports block-by-block file hashing
- Any reasonable block size requested by the client is supported
- A file can be hashed block-by-block starting from an arbitrary offset
- Fixed an issue which would cause available public keys to be displayed incorrectly on the Login tab, under Authentication, after a profile was closed
- Fixed issues involving the launch shortcut icons on the left side of the main SSH Client window. One issue would cause the SSH Client to crash if an icon was dragged out of the shortcut bar in the up direction