1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-2935-1

USN-2935-1: PAM vulnerabilities

Publication date

16 March 2016

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in PAM.

Releases

Packages

  • pam - Pluggable Authentication Modules

Details

It was discovered that the PAM pam_userdb module incorrectly used a
case-insensitive method when comparing hashed passwords. A local attacker
could possibly use this issue to make brute force attacks easier. This
issue only affected Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2013-7041)

Sebastian Krahmer discovered that the PAM pam_timestamp module incorrectly
performed filtering. A local attacker could use this issue to create
arbitrary files, or possibly bypass authentication. This issue only
affected Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-2583)

Sebastien Macke discovered that the PAM pam_unix module incorrectly handled
large passwords. A local attacker could possibly use this issue in certain
environments to enumerate usernames or cause a denial of service.
(CVE-2015-3238)

It was discovered that the PAM pam_userdb module incorrectly used a
case-insensitive method when comparing hashed passwords. A local attacker
could possibly use this issue to make brute force attacks easier. This
issue only affected Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2013-7041)

Sebastian Krahmer discovered that the PAM pam_timestamp module incorrectly
performed filtering. A local attacker could use this issue to create
arbitrary files, or possibly bypass authentication. This issue only
affected Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-2583)

Sebastien Macke discovered that the PAM pam_unix module incorrectly handled
large passwords. A local attacker could possibly use this issue in certain
environments to enumerate usernames or cause a denial of service.
(CVE-2015-3238)

Update instructions

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
15.10 wily libpam-modules –  1.1.8-3.1ubuntu3.1
14.04 trusty libpam-modules –  1.1.8-1ubuntu2.1
12.04 precise libpam-modules –  1.1.3-7ubuntu2.1

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References

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