CVE-2026-48984: pam_usb: xfree() does not call explicit_bzero — sensitive cryptographic material may linger in freed heap
mcdope · pam_usb
Affected: mcdope pam_usb · Exploitation: unlikely (under 1%)
Not in CyberSIXT coverage yet: no article names this CVE. This page shows the public record.
Higher than 3% of scored CVEs
DescriptionCVE.org
pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. In versions 0.9.1 and below, the xfree() memory release helper in calls free() without first zeroing the buffer contents, releasing heap-allocated buffers containing sensitive data — including one-time pad bytes read from disk — without clearing, leaving the sensitive content in freed heap memory until it happens to be overwritten by a subsequent allocation. On a system where a use-after-free condition exists, or where a heap inspection primitive becomes available, this could allow recovery of pad values or other authentication material from freed memory regions. This is a defence-in-depth requirement consistent with prior hardening work in this codebase (GHSA-vx6f-rrqr-j87c applied explicit_bzero to some pad paths; this issue generalises the pattern to the central deallocation helper).
Affected products1
From the CVE record. A product or version that is not listed is unknown, not unaffected.
- mcdope · pam_usb< 0.9.2
On the Atlas
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CoverageNo articles yet
No CyberSIXT article names CVE-2026-48984 yet, so there is no coverage timeline, action brief or change log for it. Everything on this page comes from the public CVE record, CISA KEV, EPSS and the nuclei template index. Search the archive or see the CVEs in the news.