Vulnerability · Published Dec 27, 2023 · Assigned by redhat
CVE-2023-4641Shadow-utils: possible password leak during passwd(1) change
Medium 4.7
In plain English
A medium-severity security flaw in shadow-utils. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 17% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Severity (CVSS 3.1)4.7Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.3%top 82.7% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known
Official description
A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt, shadow-utils fails in cleaning the buffer used to store the first entry. This may allow an attacker with enough access to retrieve the password from the memory.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux:8 | shadow-utils | 2:4.6-19.el8 | ALSA-2023:7112 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | shadow-utils | 2:4.9-8.el9 | ALSA-2023:6632 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | shadow-utils-subid | 2:4.6-19.el8 | ALSA-2023:7112 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | shadow-utils-subid | 2:4.9-8.el9 | ALSA-2023:6632 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | shadow-utils-subid-devel | 2:4.6-19.el8 | ALSA-2023:7112 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | shadow-utils-subid-devel | 2:4.9-8.el9 | ALSA-2023:6632 |
| Debian:12 | shadow | 1:4.13+dfsg1-1+deb12u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-4641 |
| Debian:13 | shadow | 1:4.13+dfsg1-2 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-4641 |
| Debian:14 | shadow | 1:4.13+dfsg1-2 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-4641 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | shadow | 1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2 | USN-6640-1 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | shadow | 1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4641 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| shadow-utils | see references | |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | see references |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | see references |
Weakness: CWE-303 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
References
- RHSA-2023:6632 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:7112 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2024:0417 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2024:2577 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4641 vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2215945 issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/04/msg00026.html