CVE-2015-3238

Severity: medium (CVSS 6.5 v3.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 2.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2015-08-24 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-200

Description

The _unix_run_helper_binary function in the pam_unix module in Linux-PAM (aka pam) before 1.2.1, when unable to directly access passwords, allows local users to enumerate usernames or cause a denial of service (hang) via a large password.

Affected products

Linux-PAM: through 1.1.8
Oracle Sparc-Opl Service Processor: through 1121

References

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-July/161350.html
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-June/161249.html
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1640.html
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/06/25/13
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2016v3-2985753.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/75428
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2935-1
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2935-2
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2935-3
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1228571
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201605-05
https://www.trustwave.com/Resources/Security-Advisories/Advisories/TWSL2015-011/?fid=6551

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