pam: pam_mail and pam_env incorrect privilege dropping
Published Jan 24, 2011
1.9
LOWCVSS 2.0
EPSS 0.35%
Description
The privilege-dropping implementation in the (1) pam_env and (2) pam_mail modules in Linux-PAM (aka pam) 1.1.2 does not check the return value of the setfsuid system call, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive information by leveraging an unintended uid, as demonstrated by a symlink attack on the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2010-3435.
Affected products
No data.
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
pam
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
pam
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
pam
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 | pam | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | pam | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | pam | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
Not vulnerable. This issue did not affect the versions of pam as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, 4, 5, or 6.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (10 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.35% (0.00349) | 26.08th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.35% (0.00349) | 26.52th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.07% (0.00075) | 20.10th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00044) | 11.89th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jul 2, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00044) | 10.25th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00044) | 8.24th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 74.98th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 23, 2023 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 74.94th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 72.92th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.55% (0.01547) | 51.82th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
No CWE recorded.
References (19)
- http://git.altlinux.org/people/ldv/packages/?p=pam.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=843807a3a90f52e7538be756616510730a24739a x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/21/10 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/21/3 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/21/8 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/21/9 mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/27/10 mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/27/4 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/27/5 mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/27/7 mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/10/03/1 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/10/25/2 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://secunia.com/advisories/49711 third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIA
- http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201206-31.xml vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOO
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/21/11 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/24/2 mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-3431 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=641361 x_refsource_CONFIRMPatchIssue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-3431
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-3431
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.