CVE-2026-47274 (GCVE-0-2026-47274)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-05-27 20:02 – Updated: 2026-05-27 20:02
VLAI
Title
pam_usb: Uncontrolled search path in pam_usb tools allows privilege escalation via PATH manipulation
Summary
pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.0, multiple pam_usb helper tools resolved external binaries through the PATH environment variable rather than using absolute paths. An attacker who can influence the process environment during PAM authentication or tool execution could substitute malicious binaries. The affected tools are pamusb-check (src/tmux.c), pamusb-conf (tools/pamusb-conf), and pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome (tools/pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome). This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0.
Severity
6.3 (Medium)
CWE
- CWE-427 - Uncontrolled Search Path Element
Assigner
References
4 references
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/security/adviso… | x_refsource_CONFIRM |
| https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/1ee87459… | x_refsource_MISC |
| https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/52a1fd64… | x_refsource_MISC |
| https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/993e73d8… | x_refsource_MISC |
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"product": "pam_usb",
"vendor": "mcdope",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "\u003c 0.9.0"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.0, multiple pam_usb helper tools resolved external binaries through the PATH environment variable rather than using absolute paths. An attacker who can influence the process environment during PAM authentication or tool execution could substitute malicious binaries. The affected tools are pamusb-check (src/tmux.c), pamusb-conf (tools/pamusb-conf), and pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome (tools/pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome). This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"attackComplexity": "HIGH",
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"availabilityImpact": "NONE",
"baseScore": 6.3,
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
"integrityImpact": "HIGH",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N",
"version": "3.1"
}
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-427",
"description": "CWE-427: Uncontrolled Search Path Element",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-27T20:02:38.484Z",
"orgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
"shortName": "GitHub_M"
},
"references": [
{
"name": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/security/advisories/GHSA-pp29-w28g-r9h9",
"tags": [
"x_refsource_CONFIRM"
],
"url": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/security/advisories/GHSA-pp29-w28g-r9h9"
},
{
"name": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/1ee8745920388df48d001a8e61ba629071557937",
"tags": [
"x_refsource_MISC"
],
"url": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/1ee8745920388df48d001a8e61ba629071557937"
},
{
"name": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/52a1fd6413b7ffcc1a5b58ce432be42e7bf0dbd0",
"tags": [
"x_refsource_MISC"
],
"url": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/52a1fd6413b7ffcc1a5b58ce432be42e7bf0dbd0"
},
{
"name": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/993e73d8bebb1d8e62677388de3402b6ec36b600",
"tags": [
"x_refsource_MISC"
],
"url": "https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/993e73d8bebb1d8e62677388de3402b6ec36b600"
}
],
"source": {
"advisory": "GHSA-pp29-w28g-r9h9",
"discovery": "UNKNOWN"
},
"title": "pam_usb: Uncontrolled search path in pam_usb tools allows privilege escalation via PATH manipulation"
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
"assignerShortName": "GitHub_M",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-47274",
"datePublished": "2026-05-27T20:02:38.484Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-05-18T23:03:37.230Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-27T20:02:38.484Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"nvd": "{\"cve\":{\"id\":\"CVE-2026-47274\",\"sourceIdentifier\":\"security-advisories@github.com\",\"published\":\"2026-05-27T20:16:40.013\",\"lastModified\":\"2026-05-27T20:16:40.013\",\"vulnStatus\":\"Received\",\"cveTags\":[],\"descriptions\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.0, multiple pam_usb helper tools resolved external binaries through the PATH environment variable rather than using absolute paths. An attacker who can influence the process environment during PAM authentication or tool execution could substitute malicious binaries. The affected tools are pamusb-check (src/tmux.c), pamusb-conf (tools/pamusb-conf), and pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome (tools/pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome). This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0.\"}],\"metrics\":{\"cvssMetricV31\":[{\"source\":\"security-advisories@github.com\",\"type\":\"Secondary\",\"cvssData\":{\"version\":\"3.1\",\"vectorString\":\"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N\",\"baseScore\":6.3,\"baseSeverity\":\"MEDIUM\",\"attackVector\":\"LOCAL\",\"attackComplexity\":\"HIGH\",\"privilegesRequired\":\"LOW\",\"userInteraction\":\"NONE\",\"scope\":\"UNCHANGED\",\"confidentialityImpact\":\"HIGH\",\"integrityImpact\":\"HIGH\",\"availabilityImpact\":\"NONE\"},\"exploitabilityScore\":1.0,\"impactScore\":5.2}]},\"weaknesses\":[{\"source\":\"security-advisories@github.com\",\"type\":\"Primary\",\"description\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"CWE-427\"}]}],\"references\":[{\"url\":\"https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/1ee8745920388df48d001a8e61ba629071557937\",\"source\":\"security-advisories@github.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/52a1fd6413b7ffcc1a5b58ce432be42e7bf0dbd0\",\"source\":\"security-advisories@github.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/commit/993e73d8bebb1d8e62677388de3402b6ec36b600\",\"source\":\"security-advisories@github.com\"},{\"url\":\"https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/security/advisories/GHSA-pp29-w28g-r9h9\",\"source\":\"security-advisories@github.com\"}]}}"
}
}
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Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
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.
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