Description
Russ Allbery pam-krb5 before 3.13, as used by libpam-heimdal, su in Solaris 10, and other software, does not properly handle calls to pam_setcred when running setuid, which allows local users to overwrite and change the ownership of arbitrary files by setting the KRB5CCNAME environment variable, and then launching a setuid application that performs certain pam_setcred operations.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | libpam-krb5 | 3.13-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | libpam-krb5 | 3.13-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | libpam-krb5 | 3.13-2 | — |
| Debian 4.0 | libpam-heimdal | 2.5-1etch1 | DSA-1722-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | libpam-krb5 | 2.6-1etch1 | DSA-1721-1 |
Advisories 2
- DSA-1722-1 libpam-heimdal - local privilege Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-1721-1 libpam-krb5 - local privilege Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:5521 vdb-entry signature
- 34260 third-party-advisory
- 252767 vendor-advisory
- 33914 third-party-advisory
- USN-719-1 vendor-advisory
- DSA-1722 vendor-advisory
- 33918 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2009-0426 vdb-entry
- 1021711 vdb-entry
- ADV-2009-0410 vdb-entry
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:5403 vdb-entry signature
- http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2009-070.htm
- 34449 third-party-advisory
- 33917 third-party-advisory
- DSA-1721 vendor-advisory
- 20090211 pam-krb5 security advisory (3.12 and earlier) mailing-list
- http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/software/pam-krb5/security/2009-02-11.html
- GLSA-200903-39 vendor-advisory
- 33741 vdb-entry
- ADV-2009-0979 vdb-entry