Skip to main content
VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-48986: mcdope pam_usb · Infinite Loop

Affects mcdope pam_usbSource CVE Database V5

0
Compare

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.7 Medium : upgrade to 0.9.2 when convenient.

Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 08:20 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
4.7Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% 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:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 18 Jun 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: 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 30 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade mcdope pam_usb to 0.9.2.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
mcdopepam_usbAffected
  • <0.9.2
Fixed in
  • 0.9.2
GitHubmcdope/pam_usbpkg:github/mcdope/pam_usbOther threatsAffected
  • <=0.9.1
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 infinite loop issue is fixed. Patch status is not explicitly stated in the vendor advisory, but the fix is included in version 0.9.2. Until upgraded, be aware that authentication processes may hang under certain conditions.

Description

pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using removable media. In pam_usb 0.9.1 and earlier, usb_get_process_parent_id() can cause an infinite loop DoS because it does not initialize *ppid on failure. In pusb_local_login(), the same variable is reused as input and output in a process-tree while loop; if /proc/<pid>/stat cannot be read (for example, when an ancestor process exits during authentication), the PID is not updated and the loop does not terminate. This hangs the authenticating process (such as sudo, sshd, or login) until it is forcibly terminated. This issue has been fixed in version 0.9.2.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…