CVE-2026-48792 PUBLISHED

pam_usb: pusb_has_virtual_input_device() silently discards EACCES, disabling remote desktop detection under non-root execution

Assigner: GitHub_M
Reserved: 22.05.2026 Published: 27.05.2026 Updated: 28.05.2026

pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.1, src/evdev.c silently ignores EACCES errors when opening /dev/input/event* nodes, causing pusb_has_virtual_input_device() to return 0 (no virtual devices found) even when every open() call failed due to insufficient permissions. The caller in src/local.c cannot distinguish a clean absence of virtual devices from a permission-denied scan, and acts on the false negative by continuing authentication without denying. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.1.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
CVSS Score: 4.4

Product Status

Vendor mcdope
Product pam_usb
Versions
  • Version < 0.9.1 is affected

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-390: Detection of Error Condition Without Action CWE
  • CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure CWE