6.3

CVE-2026-47274: pam_usb: Uncontrolled search path in pam_usb tools allows privilege escalation via PATH manipulation

Deferred
Published 27-05-2026Last modified 30-05-2026

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-47274 is a medium (CVSS 6.3) Uncontrolled Search Path Element vulnerability in mcdope pam_usb. EPSS estimates a 0.18% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 7% of scored vulnerabilities.

Overall risk
25/100
0100
Medium · default modelHow is this calculated?
CVSS score
6.3/10
010
Medium · v3.1 (CVE.org)
EPSS score
0.18%
0%100%
Low · +0.04 pp in 30 days
KEVNot listedNot listed by any tracked catalog.
RansomwareNot flaggedNo ransomware use recorded.
Public exploits0No public exploits recorded

Timeline

  1. 27-05-2026
    PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
  2. 30-05-2026
    Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. Prior to 0.9.0, multiple pam_usb helper tools resolved external binaries through the PATH environment variable rather than using absolute paths. An attacker who can influence the process environment during PAM authentication or tool execution could substitute malicious binaries. The affected tools are pamusb-check (src/tmux.c), pamusb-conf (tools/pamusb-conf), and pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome (tools/pamusb-keyring-unlock-gnome). This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.0.

CVSS metrics

2 scores · 2 sources · 1 version

EPSS trend

Probability

0.18%

Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days

Percentile

7%

Versus all other CVEs

30-day change

Increase +0.04 pp

From 0.14% on 22-09-2026

22-09-202622-10-2026

Known exploited

Compare KEV catalogs
CISA KEV

Not in the CISA KEV catalog.

ENISA CNW

Not in the ENISA CNW catalog.

CIRCL

Not in the CIRCL catalog.

Public exploits

0 found

No public exploits indexed.

Weaknesses

CWE · root cause

Affected systems

Mcdope1 product

1 vendor · 1 product

References

4 links