Description
pam_krb5 authenticates a user by essentially running kinit with the password, getting a ticket-granting ticket (tgt) from the Kerberos KDC (Key Distribution Center) over the network, as a way to verify the password. However, if a keytab is not provisioned on the system, pam_krb5 has no way to validate the response from the KDC, and essentially trusts the tgt provided over the network as being valid. In a non-default FreeBSD installation that leverages pam_krb5 for authentication and does not have a keytab provisioned, an attacker that is able to control both the password and the KDC responses can return a valid tgt, allowing authentication to occur for any user on the system.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreeBSD | FreeBSD | 13.2-RELEASE – < 13.2-RELEASE-p1, 13.1-RELEASE – < 13.1-RELEASE-p8, 12.4-RELEASE – < 12.4-RELEASE-p3 | 13.2-RELEASE-p1 |
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 | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 13 | libpam-krb5 | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | libpam-krb5 | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | sssd +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | sssd +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | sssd +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | sssd +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | sssd +1 | No fix yet | — |
Show 7 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | libpam-krb5 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | libpam-krb5 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | libpam-krb5 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | sssd | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | sssd | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | sssd | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | libpam-krb5 | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2023-1518 FreeBSD Project FreeBSD OS: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Umgehen von Sicherheitsvorkehrungen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Aug 1, 2023
References
- https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:04.pam_krb5.asc vendor-advisory
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230714-0005/ third-party-advisory
- https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:09.pam_krb5.asc vendor-advisory