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Linux PamApplication · Kernel

CVE-2018-17953

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-11-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A incorrect variable in a SUSE specific patch for pam_access rule matching in PAM 1.3.0 in openSUSE Leap 15.0 and SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 could lead to pam_access rules not being applied (fail open).

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 confidence

A SUSE-specific patch for pam_access rule matching in PAM 1.3.0 contains an incorrect variable that causes access control rules to fail open, potentially allowing unauthorized access to systems using openSUSE Leap 15.0 or SUSE Linux Enterprise 15.

MitigationApply the corrected SUSE patch for PAM 1.3.0 that fixes the pam_access variable issue and verify that access control rules are properly enforced after the fix.

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
Linux PamApplication
Affected:= 1.3.0

CVSS 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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify PAM version is 1.3.0
    Run 'rpm -q pam' or check the installed PAM package version with your system's package manager
    Affected if The installed PAM version equals 1.3.0 exactly
  2. Confirm pam_access module is in use
    Inspect PAM configuration files in /etc/pam.d/ and look for lines containing 'pam_access.so'
    Affected if The pam_access module is loaded in any PAM service configuration
  3. Check OS version is openSUSE Leap 15.0 or SLE 15
    Run 'cat /etc/os-release' or 'hostnamectl' to identify the operating system version
    Affected if The system is running openSUSE Leap 15.0 or SUSE Linux Enterprise 15
  4. Inspect pam_access rule enforcement
    Review /etc/security/access.conf and test whether access rules are being applied by attempting access from an IP outside allowed ranges, or compare configuration against actual access behavior
    Affected if Access control rules in access.conf appear to be ignored or are not restricting access as configured

The system is affected if it runs PAM version 1.3.0 on openSUSE Leap 15.0 or SLE 15 with pam_access module enabled, and access rules are being bypassed or not enforced.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the corrected SUSE patch for PAM 1.3.0 that fixes the pam_access variable issue and verify that access control rules are properly enforced after the fix.

Fix this in Linux Pam Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-17953 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data