CVE-2026-48981
Published:June 18, 2026
Updated:June 28, 2026
pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. In versions prior to 0.9.2, pam_usb calls xmlReadFile() with flags=0 when loading the configuration file, allowing libxml2 to process external entity references (XXE), potentially making outbound network connections or local file reads at XML parse time from the context of the authenticating process. The vulnerability requires the configuration file to contain crafted XML entity references. Since pam_usb.conf is root-owned, direct exploitation requires prior write access to the config, but the defence-in-depth impact is significant given that pam_usb.so runs in setuid contexts (sudo, su). This issue has been fixed in version 0.9.2.
Affected Packages
https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=nightly <0.9.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 0.9.2Related Resources (2)
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Contact UsCVSS v4
Base Score:
7
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
HIGH
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
HIGH
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
HIGH
Vulnerable System Integrity
LOW
Vulnerable System Availability
LOW
Subsequent System Confidentiality
HIGH
Subsequent System Integrity
LOW
Subsequent System Availability
LOW
CVSS v3
Base Score:
6.7
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
HIGH
Privileges Required
HIGH
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
LOW
Availability
LOW
Weakness Type (CWE)
Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
EPSS
Base Score:
0.11