pam: pam_env: reading ~/.pam_environment is security risk
Published Jan 24, 2011
7.2
HIGHCVSS 2.0
EPSS 0.37%
Description
The pam_env module in Linux-PAM (aka pam) 1.1.2 and earlier reads the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory, which might allow local users to run programs with an unintended environment by executing a program that relies on the pam_env PAM check.
Affected products
No data.
- ≤ 1.1.2
- 0.99.1.0
- 0.99.2.0
- 0.99.2.1
- 0.99.3.0
- 0.99.4.0
- 0.99.5.0
- 0.99.6.0
- 0.99.6.1
- 0.99.6.2
- 0.99.6.3
- 0.99.7.0
- 0.99.7.1
- 0.99.8.0
- 0.99.8.1
- 0.99.9.0
- 0.99.10.0
- 1.0.0
- 1.0.1
- 1.0.2
- 1.0.3
- 1.0.4
- 1.1.0
- 1.1.1
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
pam-0:1.1.1-4.el6_0.1
Fixed · RHSA-2010:0891
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
pam
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
pam
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | pam-0:1.1.1-4.el6_0.1 | Fixed | RHSA-2010:0891 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 | pam | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | pam | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
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:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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 2, 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 (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2026 | 0.37% (0.00369) | 28.44th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.37% (0.00369) | 28.45th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.05% (0.00048) | 12.08th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.07th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.10% (0.01104) | 54.09th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Sep 17, 2022 | 1.10% (0.01104) | 52.45th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.10% (0.01104) | 50.41th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.10% (0.01104) | 28.85th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
No CWE recorded.
References (12)
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/27/7 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch
- http://pam.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/pam/Linux-PAM/modules/pam_env/pam_env.8.xml?r1=1.7&r2=1.8 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://pam.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/pam/Linux-PAM/modules/pam_env/pam_env.c?r1=1.22&r2=1.23 x_refsource_CONFIRMPatch
- 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.securityfocus.com/bid/46046 vdb-entryx_refsource_BID
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-4708 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=641335 x_refsource_MISCPatch
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=672489 Issue Tracking
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/65037 vdb-entryx_refsource_XF
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-4708
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-4708
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/09/27/7 | mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatch | |
| http://pam.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/pam/Linux-PAM/modules/pam_env/pam_env.8.xml?r1=1.7&r2=1.8 | x_refsource_CONFIRM | |
| http://pam.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/pam/Linux-PAM/modules/pam_env/pam_env.c?r1=1.22&r2=1.23 | x_refsource_CONFIRMPatch | |
| 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.securityfocus.com/bid/46046 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BID | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-4708 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=641335 | x_refsource_MISCPatch | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=672489 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/65037 | vdb-entryx_refsource_XF | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-4708 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-4708 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.