CVE-2023-40660

Opensc: potential pin bypass when card tracks its own login state

MEDIUM
6.6
CVSS Score
Published: November 6, 2023 at 04:58 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:18 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsEnterprise LinuxOpenSC

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Severity
MEDIUM6.6
Exploit prediction
EPSS 1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

A flaw was found in OpenSC packages that allow a potential PIN bypass. When a token/card is authenticated by one process, it can perform cryptographic operations in other processes when an empty zero-length pin is passed. This issue poses a security risk, particularly for OS logon/screen unlock and for small, permanently connected tokens to computers. Additionally, the token can internally track login status. This flaw allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access, carry out malicious actions, or compromise the system without the user's awareness.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

Vendor states this is fixed in 0:0.20.0-7.el8_9 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 0:0.23.0-3.el9_3 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7 (unknown)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

6.6MEDIUMredhat
Attack Vector
PHYSICAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-287

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