CVE-2011-3172
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA vulnerability in pam_modules of SUSE Linux Enterprise allows attackers to log into accounts that should have been disabled. Affected releases are SUSE Linux Enterprise: versions prior to 12.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA vulnerability in the PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) implementation of SUSE Linux Enterprise allows attackers to bypass account disabled/locked states and successfully authenticate to accounts that should be inaccessible. This authentication bypass occurs due to a flaw in pam_modules handling of disabled accounts.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 12.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify SUSE Linux Enterprise Server versionRun 'cat /etc/SuSE-release' or 'hostnamectl' to determine the installed SUSE Linux Enterprise Server versionAffected if The version is below 12.0 (e.g., 11.x, 10.x)
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Verify PAM is configured for authenticationCheck for PAM configuration in /etc/pam.d/ directory or /etc/pam.conf to confirm Pluggable Authentication Modules are in useAffected if PAM is actively handling authentication (most SUSE systems use PAM by default)
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Identify disabled or locked user accountsRun 'pam_status' or check /etc/shadow for accounts with locked/disabled status, or use 'passwd -S' to list account statusAffected if There are user accounts marked as disabled, locked, or with expired passwords in the system
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Test authentication with a disabled accountAttempt to authenticate using a known disabled/locked account via SSH, login, or su to verify whether the account can successfully authenticateAffected if A disabled account can successfully authenticate (this confirms the vulnerability is present and exploitable)
The environment is affected if SUSE Linux Enterprise Server version is below 12.0, PAM is handling authentication, disabled accounts exist, and those disabled accounts can still successfully authenticate.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped12.0
Upgrade to SUSE Linux Enterprise version 12 or later, or apply vendor-supplied patches to pam_modules packages for earlier versions. Verify that disabled accounts cannot authenticate after the fix.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12.0 or later
- Upgrade SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to version 12.0 or later to resolve the pam_modules vulnerability that allows unauthorized access to disabled accounts.
- Verify the upgrade by checking the system version using: `cat /etc/os-release` or `hostnamectl`
- After upgrade, ensure all user accounts with disabled status cannot be logged into by testing authentication with a known disabled account.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3172 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-3172 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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