Vulnerability-Lookup

GHSA-56GG-22RQ-Q53X

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-06-14 18:32 – Updated: 2026-06-14 18:32

Details

Linux-PAM through 1.7.2 contains an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208) in the pam_userdb module's plaintext-password comparison path in modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c that allows a local or network-adjacent attacker able to repeatedly drive authentication through a calling service to recover the plaintext password of a target account by measuring response-timing differences. The comparison uses strncmp() (or strncasecmp() when PAM_ICASE_ARG is set) preceded by a length-equality check, so the time to reject a candidate depends on the index of the first differing byte and on whether the candidate's length matches the stored password, leaking the password length and individual prefix bytes. The vulnerable path is reached when the administrator configures pam_userdb with crypt=none, with an unrecognized crypt method, or without a crypt= argument, causing the module to store and compare credentials in plaintext.

Severity

5.9 (Medium)


                  
                    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

6.9 (Medium)


                  
                    CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:N/V:D

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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-54411"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-208"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-06-14T18:17:20Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "Linux-PAM through 1.7.2 contains an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208) in the pam_userdb module\u0027s plaintext-password comparison path in modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c that allows a local or network-adjacent attacker able to repeatedly drive authentication through a calling service to recover the plaintext password of a target account by measuring response-timing differences. The comparison uses strncmp() (or strncasecmp() when PAM_ICASE_ARG is set) preceded by a length-equality check, so the time to reject a candidate depends on the index of the first differing byte and on whether the candidate\u0027s length matches the stored password, leaking the password length and individual prefix bytes. The vulnerable path is reached when the administrator configures pam_userdb with crypt=none, with an unrecognized crypt method, or without a crypt= argument, causing the module to store and compare credentials in plaintext.",
  "id": "GHSA-56gg-22rq-q53x",
  "modified": "2026-06-14T18:32:35Z",
  "published": "2026-06-14T18:32:35Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54411"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/208.html"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam/blob/master/libpam/include/pam_inline.h"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam/blob/master/modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c#L327"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:N/R:X/V:D/RE:X/U:X",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ]
}

CVE-2026-54411 (GCVE-0-2026-54411)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-06-14 17:21 – Updated: 2026-06-15 16:59

Summary

Severity

6.9 (Medium)


                        
                          CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:N/V:D

5.9 (Medium)


                        
                          CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

SSVC

Exploitation: none Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial

CISA Coordinator (v2.0.3)

CWE

CWE-208 - Observable Timing Discrepancy

Assigner

TuranSec

References

4 references

URL	Tags
https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam	product
https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam/blob/maste…	product
https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam/blob/maste…	product
https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/208.html	technical-description

Impacted products

1 product

Vendor	Product	Version
Linux-PAM	Linux-PAM	Affected: 0 , ≤ 1.7.2 (semver)

Credits

Xurshidbek Sobirjonov

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JSON

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{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
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        "metrics": [
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            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-54411",
                "options": [
                  {
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                    "Automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "partial"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-06-15T16:59:25.401303Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
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        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-06-15T16:59:37.818Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
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    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
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          ],
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          "programFiles": [
            "modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c"
          ],
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          "versions": [
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              "lessThanOrEqual": "1.7.2",
              "status": "affected",
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            }
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      ],
      "credits": [
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          "type": "finder",
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        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
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          "lang": "en",
          "supportingMedia": [
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              "value": "\u003cp\u003eLinux-PAM through 1.7.2 contains an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208) in the pam_userdb module\u0027s plaintext-password comparison path in \u003ccode\u003emodules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c\u003c/code\u003e that allows a local or network-adjacent attacker able to repeatedly drive authentication through a calling service to recover the plaintext password of a target account by measuring response-timing differences. The comparison uses \u003ccode\u003estrncmp()\u003c/code\u003e (or \u003ccode\u003estrncasecmp()\u003c/code\u003e when \u003ccode\u003ePAM_ICASE_ARG\u003c/code\u003e is set) preceded by a length-equality check, so the time to reject a candidate depends on the index of the first differing byte and on whether the candidate\u0027s length matches the stored password, leaking the password length and individual prefix bytes. The vulnerable path is reached when the administrator configures pam_userdb with \u003ccode\u003ecrypt=none\u003c/code\u003e, with an unrecognized crypt method, or without a \u003ccode\u003ecrypt=\u003c/code\u003e argument, causing the module to store and compare credentials in plaintext.\u003c/p\u003e"
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          ],
          "value": "Linux-PAM through 1.7.2 contains an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208) in the pam_userdb module\u0027s plaintext-password comparison path in modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c that allows a local or network-adjacent attacker able to repeatedly drive authentication through a calling service to recover the plaintext password of a target account by measuring response-timing differences. The comparison uses strncmp() (or strncasecmp() when PAM_ICASE_ARG is set) preceded by a length-equality check, so the time to reject a candidate depends on the index of the first differing byte and on whether the candidate\u0027s length matches the stored password, leaking the password length and individual prefix bytes. The vulnerable path is reached when the administrator configures pam_userdb with crypt=none, with an unrecognized crypt method, or without a crypt= argument, causing the module to store and compare credentials in plaintext."
        }
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      "impacts": [
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              "lang": "en",
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            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV4_0": {
            "Automatable": "NO",
            "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
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            "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
            "attackRequirements": "PRESENT",
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            "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
            "exploitMaturity": "PROOF_OF_CONCEPT",
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            "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
            "userInteraction": "NONE",
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            "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:N/V:D",
            "version": "4.0",
            "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
            "vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
          },
          "format": "CVSS",
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "An attacker repeatedly authenticates through a service that calls pam_userdb (plaintext mode) and measures the time the service takes to reject each candidate password to learn the password length and recover the password one byte at a time."
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          ]
        },
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
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            "userInteraction": "NONE",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "format": "CVSS",
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "GENERAL"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-208",
              "description": "CWE-208 Observable Timing Discrepancy",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-06-14T17:21:43.853Z",
        "orgId": "309f9ea4-e3e9-4c6c-b79d-e8eb01244f2c",
        "shortName": "TuranSec"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "name": "Linux-PAM - upstream repository",
          "tags": [
            "product"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam"
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          "name": "Vulnerable plaintext-password comparison in pam_userdb.c (master)",
          "tags": [
            "product"
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          "url": "https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam/blob/master/modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c#L327"
        },
        {
          "name": "pam_consttime_streq helper available for the remediation",
          "tags": [
            "product"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/linux-pam/linux-pam/blob/master/libpam/include/pam_inline.h"
        },
        {
          "name": "CWE-208: Observable Timing Discrepancy",
          "tags": [
            "technical-description"
          ],
          "url": "https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/208.html"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "discovery": "EXTERNAL"
      },
      "x_assigner_notes": "The vulnerable comparison was verified by direct source inspection of modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c at tag v1.7.2 and at master HEAD as of disclosure: lines 327-332 perform a length-equality early exit followed by strncmp() / strncasecmp(). Linux-PAM has previously addressed the same weakness class in a sibling module: NEWS for Release 1.7.0 records \"pam_unix: compare password hashes in constant time\", and Release 1.6.0 hardened pam_mkhomedir \"against timing attacks\". The pam_consttime_streq() helper used by those fixes lives in libpam/include/pam_inline.h, which pam_userdb.c already includes, so the remediation in pam_userdb is a drop-in replacement of the strncmp call. The v1.7.2 release notes do not list a pam_userdb hardening change. Exploitation is gated by (a) the administrator having configured pam_userdb with plaintext password storage (crypt=none, unknown crypt method, or no crypt= option), a discouraged but documented configuration; and (b) the calling service not applying an authentication-failure delay - both gates raise attack complexity and bound real-world impact, so CVSS is scored MEDIUM rather than HIGH consistent with prior CWE-208 timing-leak CVE scoring.",
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      }
    }
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  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "309f9ea4-e3e9-4c6c-b79d-e8eb01244f2c",
    "assignerShortName": "TuranSec",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-54411",
    "datePublished": "2026-06-14T17:21:43.853Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-06-13T16:39:46.122Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-06-15T16:59:37.818Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

Action not permitted

GHSA-56GG-22RQ-Q53X

CVE-2026-54411 (GCVE-0-2026-54411)

Tags

Sightings

Nomenclature