VulnerabilityDeferred

CVE-2026-44709

Prior to 0.8.7, pamusb-pinentry reads the PINENTRY_FALLBACK_APP environment variable and executes it directly without any validation.

HIGH 7.8EPSS 0.15%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.15%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.8.7, pamusb-pinentry reads the PINENTRY_FALLBACK_APP environment variable and executes it directly without any validation. Any process that can set environment variables before pamusb-pinentry is invoked can point PINENTRY_FALLBACK_APP at an arbitrary binary or script and have it executed with the privileges of the pam_usb tool chain. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.8.7.

CVSS 3.1: 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.15% probability · 5th percentile
CISA KEV: Not listed
Weakness: CWE-78
Source: security-advisories@github.com

References

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.