CVE-2026-48065
MEDIUMpam_usb: Unchecked integer multiplication before xmalloc() in conf.c allows heap-based buffer overflow on 32-bit targets
Title source: cnaDescription
pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.1, src/conf.c allocates heap memory proportional to n_devices, a count derived from libxml2 XPath evaluation of the config file, without first enforcing an upper bound. On 32-bit targets (armv7l, i686 -- both listed in the project Makefile), the multiplication n_devices * sizeof(t_pusb_device) wraps around size_t, causing xmalloc() to receive a very small size. Because xmalloc() only calls abort() on NULL return, a small-but-non-NULL allocation is accepted, and subsequent array writes overflow the heap. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.1.
References (3)
Core 3
Core References
X_Refsource_Misc x_refsource_misc
https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/issues/352
X_Refsource_Misc x_refsource_misc
https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/issues/55
X_Refsource_Confirm x_refsource_confirm
https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/security/advisories/GHSA-24mw-m2vf-36vp
Scores
CVSS v3
6.7
EPSS
0.0015
EPSS Percentile
4.5%
Attack Vector
LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA SSVC
Vulnrichment
Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical Impact
total
Details
CWE
CWE-122
CWE-190
Status
published
Products (1)
mcdope/pam_usb
< 0.9.1
Published
May 27, 2026
Tracked Since
May 28, 2026