Linux-PAM through 1.7.2 contains an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208) in the pam_userdb module's plaintext-password comparison path in modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c that allows a local or network-adjacent attacker able to repeatedly drive authentication through a calling service to recover the plaintext password of a target account by measuring response-timing differences. The comparison uses strncmp() (or strncasecmp() when PAM_ICASE_ARG is set) preceded by a length-equality check, so the time to reject a candidate depends on the index of the first differing byte and on whether the candidate's length matches the stored password, leaking the password length and individual prefix bytes. The vulnerable path is reached when the administrator configures pam_userdb with crypt=none, with an unrecognized crypt method, or without a crypt= argument, causing the module to store and compare credentials in plaintext.

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History

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 05:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Timing Attack Enables Password Reconstruction in Linux-PAM pam_userdb linux-pam: From CVEorg collector
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Moderate


Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Sun, 14 Jun 2026 19:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Timing Attack Enables Password Reconstruction in Linux-PAM pam_userdb

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 18:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux-pam
Linux-pam linux-pam
Vendors & Products Linux-pam
Linux-pam linux-pam

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Linux-PAM through 1.7.2 contains an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208) in the pam_userdb module's plaintext-password comparison path in modules/pam_userdb/pam_userdb.c that allows a local or network-adjacent attacker able to repeatedly drive authentication through a calling service to recover the plaintext password of a target account by measuring response-timing differences. The comparison uses strncmp() (or strncasecmp() when PAM_ICASE_ARG is set) preceded by a length-equality check, so the time to reject a candidate depends on the index of the first differing byte and on whether the candidate's length matches the stored password, leaking the password length and individual prefix bytes. The vulnerable path is reached when the administrator configures pam_userdb with crypt=none, with an unrecognized crypt method, or without a crypt= argument, causing the module to store and compare credentials in plaintext.
Weaknesses CWE-208
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 6.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:N/V:D'}


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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: TuranSec

Published:

Updated: 2026-06-15T16:59:37.818Z

Reserved: 2026-06-13T16:39:46.122Z

Link: CVE-2026-54411

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-06-15T16:59:29.063Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Deferred

Published: 2026-06-14T18:17:20.587

Modified: 2026-06-16T15:36:43.610

Link: CVE-2026-54411

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-06-14T17:21:43Z

Links: CVE-2026-54411 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-06-14T19:00:08Z

Weaknesses