CVE-2026-47269
Prior to 0.9.0, pam_usb's deny_remote feature checks utmpx ut_addr_v6 to detect whether an authentication request originates from a remote session.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.31%). 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 0.9.0, pam_usb's deny_remote feature checks utmpx ut_addr_v6 to detect whether an authentication request originates from a remote session. The outer guard was if (utent->ut_addr_v6[0] != 0), which only tests the first 32-bit word of the 128-bit address field. IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses (::ffff:x.x.x.x) store the IPv4 address in ut_addr_v6[3] with ut_addr_v6[0] == 0. On systems where the SSH daemon listens on :: (IPv6 wildcard) with AddressFamily any -- common on Ubuntu and Debian -- incoming IPv4 connections are recorded in utmpx as IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses. The outer check evaluates to false, the remote-detection block is skipped entirely, and the session is treated as local. deny_remote=true does not block the authentication. An attacker with physical access to a registered USB device can authenticate over SSH on an affected system as if they were sitting at a local terminal, bypassing the deny_remote restriction. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0.
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
- EPSS
- 0.31% probability · 23th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-284
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
References
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.