{"cve":"CVE-2026-48984","nvd":{"published":"2026-06-18T18:16:19.493","modified":"2026-10-26T11:10:00.157","status":"Deferred","description":"pam_usb provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary removable media. In versions 0.9.1 and below, the xfree() memory release helper in calls free() without first zeroing the buffer contents, releasing heap-allocated buffers containing sensitive data — including one-time pad bytes read from disk — without clearing, leaving the sensitive content in freed heap memory until it happens to be overwritten by a subsequent allocation. On a system where a use-after-free condition exists, or where a heap inspection primitive becomes available, this could allow recovery of pad values or other authentication material from freed memory regions. This is a defence-in-depth requirement consistent with prior hardening work in this codebase (GHSA-vx6f-rrqr-j87c applied explicit_bzero to some pad paths; this issue generalises the pattern to the central deallocation helper).","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","score":4.7},"cwes":["CWE-14","CWE-226"],"references":["https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/releases/tag/0.9.2","https://github.com/mcdope/pam_usb/security/advisories/GHSA-rmp6-wfrq-wrrc"],"products":[],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-26T11:33:08.859761529+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2026-48984","score":0.00147,"percentile":0.03869,"date":"2026-10-25"},"kev":null,"osv":[],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}