The privilege-dropping implementation in the (1) pam_env and (2) pam_mail modules in…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- — Not recorded in CVSS 2.0
- Attack complexity
- Medium
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Partial · None · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 2.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The privilege-dropping implementation in the (1) pam_env and (2) pam_mail modules in Linux-PAM (aka pam) 1.1.2 does not check the return value of the setfsuid system call, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive information by leveraging an unintended uid, as demonstrated by a symlink attack on the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2010-3435.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2010-3431
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-65hr-mfq3-4rjr
References
Patch 8
- [oss-security] 20100921 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20101004 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20100921 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20100927 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20100921 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=641361
- [oss-security] 20101025 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20100921 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
Advisory 1
Other 6
- [oss-security] 20100927 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20100924 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20100921 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- [oss-security] 20100928 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
- http://git.altlinux.org/people/ldv/packages/?p=pam.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=843807a3a90f52e7538be756616510730a24739a
- [oss-security] 20100928 Re: Minor security flaw with pam_xauth
More Linux-pam vulnerabilities
- TI-2022-11097 The Linux-PAM package before 1.5.2-6.1 for openSUSE Tumbleweed allows authentication… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-16865 Improper authentication in pam CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2015-02867 The _unix_run_helper_binary function in the pam_unix module in Linux-PAM (aka pam) before… CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2014-02069 Multiple directory traversal vulnerabilities in pam_timestamp.c in the pam_timestamp… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 5.8
- TI-2009-00845 Integer signedness error in the _pam_StrTok function in libpam/pam_misc.c in Linux-PAM… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 6.6
- TI-2010-04431 The pam_env module in Linux-PAM (aka pam) 1.1.2 and earlier reads the .pam_environment… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.2
Sources
- CVE-2010-3431 · CVE Program
- CVE-2010-3431 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-65hr-mfq3-4rjr · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2010-3431 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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