CVE-2026-44712 pam_usb: Shell injection via device UUID and username in pamusb-conf and pamusb-agent
Attackers can execute arbitrary commands as root via crafted USB UUIDs or usernames in pam_usb configuration files.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-44712?
CVE-2026-44712 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in mcdope pam_usb, published on 27 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.8.7, a crafted UUID such as $(id>/tmp/rce) in the config causes root RCE when pamusb-conf --reset-pads is run. A USB device with a crafted filesystem UUID (some controllers allow this) can inject the payload at --add-device time. Also, userName from the XML config is passed to os.system() in pamusb-agent, which invokes a shell. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.8.7.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44712?
How do I fix CVE-2026-44712?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-44712 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.
Is CVE-2026-44712 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44712 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-jgv5-w6rm-7wxg.