CVE-2026-48792

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

MEDIUM
4.4
CVSS Score
Published: May 27, 2026 at 07:55 PM UTC
Updated: October 26, 2026 at 11:10 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorPam USB

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Severity
MEDIUM4.4
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

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.

Affected

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

v < 0.9.1
Affected range stops below 0.9.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

References (3)

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

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

CVSS

4.4MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusDEFERRED
CWE
CWE-390CWE-693

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