CVE-2026-48983CWE-367

pam_usb: TOCTOU race condition in pad directory creation allows symlink substitution

Medium · published June 18, 2026

CVSS v3.1
5.8
EPSS
0%
Percentile
1.1
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. In versions prior to 0.9.2, a symlink race condition exists in per-device and per-user pad directory creation. pam_usb uses a check-then-act pattern: it calls lstat() to test for existence and then calls mkdir() separately to create the directory. A local attacker can win the race between these calls by replacing the target path with a symlink to a directory they control. If successful, one-time pad files may be written to an attacker-controlled location, potentially exposing future pad values before use or disrupting authentication. This issue has been fixed in version 0.9.2.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
5.8 · MEDIUM
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.00107 · 1.1th percentile
Weakness
CWE-367 · Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
Published
2026-06-18T19:07Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 18 JUN 19:07Z
    pam_usb: TOCTOU race condition in pad directory creation allows symlink substitution
    cvelistv5