Caddy-SSH vulnerable to Authorization Bypass due to incorrect usage of PAM library
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- No fix listed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from GitHub. Impact type from CWE-287.
Summary
Not invoking a call to `pam_acct_mgmt` after a call to `pam_authenticate` to check the validity of a login can lead to an authorization bypass. ### Impact #### Exploitability The attack can be carried over the network. A complex non-standard configuration or a specialized condition is required for the attack to be successfully conducted. The attacker also requires access to a users credentials, be it expired, for an attack to be successful. There is no user interaction required for successful execution. The attack can affect components outside the scope of the target module. #### Impact Using this attack vector, an attacker may access otherwise restricted parts of the system. The attack can be used to gain access to confidential files like passwords, login credentials and other secrets. Hence, it has a high impact on confidentiality. It may also be directly used to affect a change on a system resource. Hence has a medium to high impact on integrity. This attack may not be used to affect the availability of the system. Taking this account an appropriate CVSS v3.1 vector would be [AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator?vector=AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L&version=3.1) ### Root Cause Analysis In this case, in the following PAM transaction, only a call to `pam.Authenticate` is used to login a user. https://github.com/mohammed90/caddy-ssh/blob/1d980ceea6e67765daf19b5e644c7a0773fdaa13/internal/authentication/os/pam.go#L60 This implies that a user with expired credentials can still login. The bug can be verified easily by creating a new user account, expiring it with `chage -E0 <username>` and then trying to log in with the expired credentials. ### Patches This can be fixed by invoking a call to `pam.AcctMgmt` after a successful call to `pam.Authenticate` ### References * [Man Page for pam_acct_mgmt](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/pam_acct_mgmt.3.html) * [CWE-863](http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/863.html) * [CWE-285](http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/285.html)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | github.com/mohammed90/caddy-ssh (Go) | — | — | No fix listed | GHSA-gmhj-xjfh-cf6m |
- github.com/mohammed90/caddy-ssh (Go) Vendor— Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-gmhj-xjfh-cf6m
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-03 Threatist record created from GHSA-gmhj-xjfh-cf6m
References
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences