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CVE-2023-3326

9.8 · CRITICAL

pam_krb5 authenticates a user by essentially running kinit with the password, getting a ticket-granting ticket (tgt) from the Kerberos KDC (Key Distribution Center) over the network, as a way to ve…

Published Jun 22, 2023CWE-303EPSS 1.10%

Overview

CVE-2023-3326 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on June 22, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

pam_krb5 authenticates a user by essentially running kinit with the password, getting a ticket-granting ticket (tgt) from the Kerberos KDC (Key Distribution Center) over the network, as a way to verify the password. However, if a keytab is not provisioned on the system, pam_krb5 has no way to validate the response from the KDC, and essentially trusts the tgt provided over the network as being valid. In a non-default FreeBSD installation that leverages pam_krb5 for authentication and does not have a keytab provisioned, an attacker that is able to control both the password and the KDC responses can return a valid tgt, allowing authentication to occur for any user on the system.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

Refsecurity.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:04.pam_krb5.ascRefsecurity.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:09.pam_krb5.ascRefsecurity.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230714-0005/Refsecurity.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:04.pam_krb5.ascRefsecurity.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:09.pam_krb5.ascRefsecurity.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230714-0005/

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-3326?

CVE-2023-3326 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on June 22, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2023-3326?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-3326?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-3326?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2023-3326 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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