CVE-2026-25506

MUNGE has a buffer overflow in message unpacking allows key leakage and credential forgery

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: February 10, 2026 at 06:55 PM UTC
Updated: July 15, 2026 at 02:18 AM UTC
3 products affected across 3 vendorsDebian LinuxMungeMunge

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.3%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

MUNGE is an authentication service for creating and validating user credentials. From 0.5 to 0.5.17, local attacker can exploit a buffer overflow vulnerability in munged (the MUNGE authentication daemon) to leak cryptographic key material from process memory. With the leaked key material, the attacker could forge arbitrary MUNGE credentials to impersonate any user (including root) to services that rely on MUNGE for authentication. The vulnerability allows a buffer overflow by sending a crafted message with an oversized address length field, corrupting munged's internal state and enabling extraction of the MAC subkey used for credential verification. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.5.18.

Affected

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

0.5 ≤ v < 0.5.18
Affected range stops below 0.5.18, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 0.5.18
Affected range stops below 0.5.18, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

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

References (22)

x_refsource_CONFIRMMitigationPatchVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/dun/munge/security/advisories/GHSA-r9cr-jf4v-75gh
x_refsource_MISCProductRelease Notes
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/dun/munge/releases/tag/munge-0.5.18
Mailing ListPatchThird Party Advisory
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/02/10/3
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/02/17/6
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/02/msg00015.html
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:16174
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:2918

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

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

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-787CWE-120

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