pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.0, pam_usb's deny_remote feature checks utmpx ut_addr_v6 to detect whether an authentication request originates from a remote session. The outer guard was if (utent->ut_addr_v6[0] != 0), which only tests the first 32-bit word of the 128-bit address field. IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses (::ffff:x.x.x.x) store the IPv4 address in ut_addr_v6[3] with ut_addr_v6[0] == 0. On systems where the SSH daemon listens on :: (IPv6 wildcard) with AddressFamily any -- common on Ubuntu and Debian -- incoming IPv4 connections are recorded in utmpx as IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses. The outer check evaluates to false, the remote-detection block is skipped entirely, and the session is treated as local. deny_remote=true does not block the authentication. An attacker with physical access to a registered USB device can authenticate over SSH on an affected system as if they were sitting at a local terminal, bypassing the deny_remote restriction. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0.
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Wed, 27 May 2026 21:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.0, pam_usb's deny_remote feature checks utmpx ut_addr_v6 to detect whether an authentication request originates from a remote session. The outer guard was if (utent->ut_addr_v6[0] != 0), which only tests the first 32-bit word of the 128-bit address field. IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses (::ffff:x.x.x.x) store the IPv4 address in ut_addr_v6[3] with ut_addr_v6[0] == 0. On systems where the SSH daemon listens on :: (IPv6 wildcard) with AddressFamily any -- common on Ubuntu and Debian -- incoming IPv4 connections are recorded in utmpx as IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses. The outer check evaluates to false, the remote-detection block is skipped entirely, and the session is treated as local. deny_remote=true does not block the authentication. An attacker with physical access to a registered USB device can authenticate over SSH on an affected system as if they were sitting at a local terminal, bypassing the deny_remote restriction. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0. | |
| Title | pam_usb: deny_remote feature incorrectly classifies IPv4-mapped IPv6 remote connections as local | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-284 | |
| References |
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cvssV3_1
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: GitHub_M
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-27T20:11:44.975Z
Reserved: 2026-05-18T23:03:37.229Z
Link: CVE-2026-47269
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Status : Received
Published: 2026-05-27T21:16:18.810
Modified: 2026-05-27T21:16:18.810
Link: CVE-2026-47269
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OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-05-27T22:30:35Z
Weaknesses