CVE-2026-48986
pam_usb: Infinite loop DoS in process-tree walk when parent process exits during authentication
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Description
pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using removable media. In pam_usb 0.9.1 and earlier, usb_get_process_parent_id() can cause an infinite loop DoS because it does not initialize *ppid on failure. In pusb_local_login(), the same variable is reused as input and output in a process-tree while loop; if /proc/<pid>/stat cannot be read (for example, when an ancestor process exits during authentication), the PID is not updated and the loop does not terminate. This hangs the authenticating process (such as sudo, sshd, or login) until it is forcibly terminated. This issue has been fixed in version 0.9.2.
Remediation
No guide yetNo remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.
References (2)
SSVC — Action Prioritization
SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.
CVSS
- Attack Vector
- LOCAL
- Complexity
- HIGH
- Privileges
- LOW
- User Interaction
- NONE
- Scope
- UNCHANGED
- Confidentiality
- NONE
- Integrity
- NONE
- Availability
- HIGH
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