CVE-2026-48981pam_usb: xmlReadFile flags=0 permits XXE network entity fetching in conf.c
Updated under an hour ago ()
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It affects mcdope pam_usb. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.
No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.
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pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. In versions prior to 0.9.2, pam_usb calls xmlReadFile() with flags=0 when loading the configuration file, allowing libxml2 to process external entity references (XXE), potentially making outbound network connections or local file reads at XML parse time from the context of the authenticating process. The vulnerability requires the configuration file to contain crafted XML entity references. Since pam_usb.conf is root-owned, direct exploitation requires prior write access to the config, but the defence-in-depth impact is significant given that pam_usb.so runs in setuid contexts (sudo, su). This issue has been fixed in version 0.9.2.
- CVSS
- 6.7 MEDIUM (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L
- Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-611
- Known exploited
- Not in CISA's KEV catalog
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- Not loaded for this CVE
- Assigned by
- GitHub_M
- NVD analysis
- Deferred
- Record last updated
- Jun 22, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.