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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2022-28321: Linux-PAM package · Improper Authentication

Source CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.8 Critical : upgrade to 1.5.2-6.1 as a priority.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
9.8Critical
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
1.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 75% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 1.5.2-6.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 19 Sep 2022

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade the openSUSE opensuse/linux-pam package to 1.5.2-6.1.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
openSUSEopensuse/linux-pampkg:rpm/opensuse/linux-pamOther threatsAffected
  • <1.5.2-6.1
Fixed in
  • 1.5.2-6.1

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

  1. Immediate upgrade of the Linux-PAM package to version 1.5.2-6.1 or later on all openSUSE Tumbleweed and Factory systems is the primary mitigation step.
  2. Review and tighten SSH access control policies, ensuring that IP-based restrictions do not rely solely on DNS resolution.
  3. Implement network-level controls such as firewall rules to restrict SSH access to trusted IP ranges, reducing exposure to untrusted sources.
  4. Monitor SSH login attempts and system logs for unusual access patterns, especially from IP addresses that fail DNS resolution.
  5. Consider deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA) for SSH access to add an additional layer of security beyond PAM controls.
  6. For environments where patching immediately is not feasible, temporarily disable pam_access.so or configure it to avoid reliance on DNS resolution for access decisions, if possible.
  7. Educate system administrators about the risks of DNS-dependent access controls and encourage validation of access control modules after updates.
  8. Regularly audit and update DNS infrastructure to minimize unresolved IP addresses that could be exploited.

Description

The Linux-PAM package before 1.5.2-6.1 for openSUSE Tumbleweed allows authentication bypass for SSH logins. The pam_access.so module doesn't correctly restrict login if a user tries to connect from an IP address that is not resolvable via DNS. In such conditions, a user with denied access to a machine can still get access. NOTE: the relevance of this issue is largely limited to openSUSE Tumbleweed and openSUSE Factory; it does not affect Linux-PAM upstream.

References

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