CVE-2026-48985: mcdope pam_usb · NULL Pointer Dereference
Affects mcdope pam_usbSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium : upgrade to 0.9.2 when convenient.
Data as of 1 Nov 2026, 22:58 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 0.9.2
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Jun 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 1 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade pam_usb and mcdope/pam_usb to 0.9.2.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| mcdopepam_usb | Affected
| Fixed in
|
GitHubmcdope/pam_usbpkg:github/mcdope/pam_usbOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
Upgrade pam_usb to version 0.9.2 or later, where this NULL pointer dereference vulnerability is fixed. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor stating the issue is resolved in version 0.9.2. No other mitigation steps are indicated.
Description
pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. In versions 0.9.1 and below, pusb_is_loginctl_local() can cause a NULL dereference crash when parsing loginctl output. The function calls popen() and reads the result; if the Remote field is only a newline, fgets() succeeds but strtok_r(buf, "\n", &saveptr) returns NULL. A subsequent strcmp(is_remote, "no") then dereferences NULL, causing undefined behavior (typically SIGSEGV) and crashing the PAM module. This can crash the authenticating process (e.g., sudo, login) and, depending on PAM stack configuration, deny access for all users of the affected service. This issue has been fixed in version 0.9.2.