CVE-2025-8941: Linux-pam: incomplete fix for cve-2025-6020

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-08-13 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-22

Description

A flaw was found in linux-pam. The pam_namespace module may improperly handle user-controlled paths, allowing local users to exploit symlink attacks and race conditions to elevate their privileges to root. This CVE provides a "complete" fix for CVE-2025-6020.

Affected products

Red Hat cert-manager operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.16: all versions — fixed in sha256:330e8b5ab4841a21f8f5f23cc7fb192197872f11639b12bf4b1e70831f636323
Red Hat Compliance Operator 1: all versions — fixed in sha256:c953e9f9abf9cf25bf65bb3ffdc86ccf49b3e69a1cf3fbb47b6972e421fd6628
Red Hat Discovery 2: all versions — fixed in sha256:c85cfbcaf7888885e57596b7b8bde3894718cfc33326499b24961a66a62cf083
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support: all versions — fixed in 0:1.1.8-23.el7_9.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-38.el8_10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Support: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-8.el8_2.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-14.el8_4.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-14.el8_4.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-16.el8_6.3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Telecommunications Update Service: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-16.el8_6.3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Update Services for SAP Solutions: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-16.el8_6.3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-26.el8_8.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions: all versions — fixed in 0:1.3.1-26.el8_8.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: all versions — fixed in 0:1.5.1-26.el9_6
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Update Services for SAP Solutions: all versions — fixed in 0:1.5.1-9.el9_0.3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions: all versions — fixed in 0:1.5.1-15.el9_2.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Extended Update Support: all versions — fixed in 0:1.5.1-24.el9_4.1
Red Hat Insights proxy 1.5: all versions — fixed in sha256:4ca38b33efec0d2dd17a8fd822a7c18281810676ceabb0c1db90953cb91cd5ea
Red Hat OpenShift sandboxed containers 1.1: all versions — fixed in sha256:24722900db1425bf0c27f6ad6f3fb7d79ff9ebc433bdab58423fa71bab76122b, sha256:59fb1f7f1653361d94f7d48b42d8fe19ed3263c1c78654837c11f2135544c1ac, sha256:cead623ceda4048cabaa81c371ed2a8143f5c5514276fca1d71685bd9e6d1e65, sha256:f5e1602d72177d77f1b879c76e6f6cfbc2979c136c06ca9f03ea97ffb369b7a6
Red Hat Web Terminal 1.11 on RHEL 9: all versions — fixed in 1.11-19, 1.11-8
Red Hat Web Terminal 1.12 on RHEL 9: all versions — fixed in 1.12-4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Red Hat cert-manager operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.16 sha256:330e8b5ab4841a21f8f5f23cc7fb192197872f11639b12bf4b1e70831f636323; Red Hat Compliance Operator 1 sha256:c953e9f9abf9cf25bf65bb3ffdc86ccf49b3e69a1cf3fbb47b6972e421fd6628; Red Hat Discovery 2 sha256:c85cfbcaf7888885e57596b7b8bde3894718cfc33326499b24961a66a62cf083; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support 0:1.1.8-23.el7_9.2; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 0:1.3.1-38.el8_10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Support 0:1.3.1-8.el8_2.2; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support 0:1.3.1-14.el8_4.2; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On 0:1.3.1-14.el8_4.2; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support 0:1.3.1-16.el8_6.3; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Telecommunications Update Service 0:1.3.1-16.el8_6.3; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Update Services for SAP Solutions 0:1.3.1-16.el8_6.3; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service 0:1.3.1-26.el8_8.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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