A flaw was found in sssd, specifically within the PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) responder's protocol v1 parser, pam_parse_in_data(). (CVE-2026-90994)
Description
A vulnerability exists in sssd's PAM responder protocol v1 parser, pam_parse_in_data(), allowing a local client with access to the PAM responder's UNIX socket to cause an out-of-bounds read by sending an empty or truncated PAM request body. This can lead to the PAM responder terminating or restarting, resulting in a local denial of service.
CVSS v3.1
Score 4.0medium
Affected software
pkg:deb/ubuntu/sssd?arch=source&distro=esm-infra-legacy/xenialpkg:deb/ubuntu/sssd?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/bionicpkg:deb/ubuntu/sssd?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/focalpkg:deb/ubuntu/sssd?arch=source&distro=jammypkg:deb/ubuntu/sssd?arch=source&distro=noblepkg:deb/ubuntu/sssd?arch=source&distro=resoluteRun on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-90994 describes a flaw in sssd's PAM responder protocol v1 parser function pam_parse_in_data(). A local client with UNIX socket access can exploit this by negotiating protocol v1 and sending an empty or truncated PAM request body, triggering an out-of-bounds read. This causes the PAM responder to terminate or restart, leading to a local denial of service condition.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows a local attacker with access to the PAM responder's UNIX socket to cause a denial of service by crashing or restarting the PAM responder. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity, only availability is affected.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, restrict local access to the PAM responder's UNIX socket to trusted users only to mitigate exploitation risk.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90994
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.7.0
- Ecosystems
- ["Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS","Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS","Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS","Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","Ubuntu:26.04:LTS"]
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6ac80fdf2cdf04f65639c854
Added to database: 10/08/2026, 21:49:19 UTC
Last enriched: 10/08/2026, 22:38:02 UTC
Last updated: 10/08/2026, 22:38:02 UTC
Views: 8
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