Comment 12 for bug 286337

Stability is an important value in a server, but it's not the only value.

Offering SFTP in a limited directory tree is a common server function. The claim that there is no security value in offering a version of OpenSSH with simplified SFTP chroot is rather disingenuous. The Ubuntu position appears to be:

  (a) Go to one of our shorter-lived releases and do that part right; just give up the stability value
  (b) Use tedious workarounds involving building chroot jails for each user
  (c) Force users to downgrade to FTP (a la Windows) which can easily be chrooted
  (d) Some other Linux distros are even further behind the curve so suck it up and enjoy

It's not clear what criteria Ubuntu is using to decide what to backport. But a package like this that is central to many servers' purposes ought to a prime candidate, particularly when there's no architectural reason why it can't be backported easily. See Siegfried's site.