A Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) vulnerability has been discovered in pam-config within Linux Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM). This flaw allows an unprivileged local attacker (for example, a user logged in via SSH) to obtain the elevated privileges normally reserved for a physically present, "allow_active" user. The highest risk is that the attacker can then perform all allow_active yes Polkit actions, which are typically restricted to console users, potentially gaining unauthorized control over system configurations, services, or other sensitive operations.
CVE-2025-6018
CVSS base score
7.8 (v3.1)
Severity
HIGH
Attack vector
Local
Weakness
CWE-863
Last modified
November 4, 2026
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products
suse pam-config
References
- access.redhat.com Third Party Advisory
- bugzilla.redhat.com Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- bugzilla.suse.com Exploit, Third Party Advisory
- cdn2.qualys.com Exploit, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- www.openwall.com
- cdn2.qualys.com Exploit, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory