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TI-2026-34852 Aliases CVE-2026-47272

pam_usb: OTP pad authentication bypass via missing system pad check and uninitialized RNG buffer

Priority LOW 32CWE-287Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Security bypass
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · None
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-287.

Summary

pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.0, the pusb_pad_compare() function in src/pad.c only verified that the user-side pad (~/.pamusb/device.pad) could be read, but did not enforce that the system-side pad (the pad file on the USB device) was also present and readable. If the user-side pad was deleted or unreadable, the function returned a failure that was treated as non-fatal in certain code paths, allowing authentication to succeed without the USB device being verified. A local user can delete their own ~/.pamusb/device.pad to remove the USB device requirement and authenticate without the physical device. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00119 1st percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed pam_usb (mcdope): 0.9.0

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Total

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
mcdopepam_usbbefore 0.9.00.9.0Patch availableCNA
  • pam_usb Vendormcdope Affected before 0.9.0 Fixed in 0.9.0 Patch available CNA

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA pam_usb (mcdope) Fixed in 0.9.0

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-47272

References

Other 1

  • TI-2026-35505 pam_usb: PAM_RHOST check skipped when deny_remote=false allows XDMCP authentication bypass CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
  • TI-2026-32598 pam_usb: Symlink attacks on pad directory and pad files enable authentication bypass and root file corruption CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.9
  • TI-2026-32596 pam_usb: PINENTRY_FALLBACK_APP environment variable allows arbitrary command execution CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
  • TI-2026-32600 pam_usb: Command injection via $TMUX environment variable leads to RCE as root CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2026-32599 pam_usb: Shell injection via device UUID and username in pamusb-conf and pamusb-agent CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.2
  • TI-2026-34849 pam_usb: deny_remote feature incorrectly classifies IPv4-mapped IPv6 remote connections as local CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.4
See all 21 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences