pam_usb: deny_remote feature incorrectly classifies IPv4-mapped IPv6 remote connections as local
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-47269 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | GitHub_M |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-05-27 21:16:18 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-05-28 13:57:25 UTC |
| 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. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.4 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Problem Types: CWE-284 | CWE-284 CWE-284: Improper Access Control
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 7.4 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 7.4 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
NoneCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/security/advisories/GHSA-jmmj-qhrq-w45g | [email protected] | github.com | |
| github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/804fe24eae3d742d8be05fd015e36abc3c7d94e5 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.