USN-8601-1: PAM vulnerability

unknownCVE-2026-54411

It was discovered that PAM had a timing discrepancy in the pam_userdb module when comparing plaintext passwords. An attacker could possibly use this issue to obtain sensitive information by measuring response-timing differences during repeated authentication attempts.

CSIRTS triage

vendor: null product: PAM Information disclosureaffected: null

What: A timing discrepancy in the pam_userdb module could allow sensitive information to be obtained.
Who is affected: Users of PAM with the pam_userdb module.
Urgency: Remediation is necessary to prevent potential information disclosure.
Action: Apply patches or updates to PAM.

AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.

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Details

Source: Ubuntu Security Notices (INTL · vendor-psirt · site)
Severity: unknown
Published: 2026-07-23
Exploitation: Not in CISA KEV at last sync

Original advisory: https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8601-1

Exploitation outlook

EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.

Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-544110.33% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 26% of all scored CVEs.

Referenced CVEs

CVE	CSIRTS overview	External
CVE-2026-54411	coverage & exploitation status	NVD · CVE.org

Same CVEs, other sources

How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.

mediumCVE-2026-54411: Linux-PAM through 1.7.2 contains an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208) in the pam_userdb …msrc