pam — security advisory
The (1) pam_env and (2) pam_mail modules in Linux-PAM (aka pam) before 1.1.2 use root privileges during read access to files and directories that belong to arbitrary user accounts, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive information by leveraging this filesystem activity, as demonstrated by a symlink attack on the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory.
- Products
- pam
- Affected versions
- Not specified
- Fixed versions
- 1.1.3-1
- CVEs
- CVE-2010-3435
- Confirmed fixed CVEs
- Not specified
- Updated in this feed
- 31 Oct 2026, 23:47 UTC · Revision 1
Source evidence
The (1) pam_env and (2) pam_mail modules in Linux-PAM (aka pam) before 1.1.2 use root privileges during read access to files and directories that belong to arbitrary user accounts, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive information by leveraging this filesystem activity, as demonstrated by a symlink attack on the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory.
osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435
pam
Fixed versions: 1.1.3-1
pam
Fixed versions: 1.1.3-1
pam
Fixed versions: 1.1.3-1
Complete source record
{
"id": "f4b1cbff636b18debc9f74b1f65457cef190c4bec25b4ae2d565758bfe233bdd",
"url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435",
"method": "structured",
"payload": {
"kind": "advisory",
"title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435",
"summary": "The (1) pam_env and (2) pam_mail modules in Linux-PAM (aka pam) before 1.1.2 use root privileges during read access to files and directories that belong to arbitrary user accounts, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive information by leveraging this filesystem activity, as demonstrated by a symlink attack on the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory.",
"evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435",
"products": [
{
"name": {
"value": "pam",
"evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "1.1.3-1",
"evidence": "/affected/0/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
},
{
"name": {
"value": "pam",
"evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "1.1.3-1",
"evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
},
{
"name": {
"value": "pam",
"evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "1.1.3-1",
"evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
}
],
"severity": "unknown",
"structured": {
"id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435",
"aliases": [
"DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435"
],
"affected": [
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.1.3-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "pam",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/pam?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
"ecosystem": "Debian:12"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "low"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.1.3-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "pam",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/pam?arch=source&distro=trixie",
"ecosystem": "Debian:13"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "low"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.1.3-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "pam",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/pam?arch=source&distro=forky",
"ecosystem": "Debian:14"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2010-3435.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "low"
}
}
],
"modified": "2026-10-23T17:47:51.509967879Z",
"provider": "osv",
"upstream": [
"CVE-2010-3435"
],
"references": [
"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2010-3435"
]
},
"related_cves": [
{
"value": "CVE-2010-3435",
"evidence": "/upstream"
}
],
"security_relevant": true,
"severity_evidence": null
},
"source_id": "core-osv",
"document_id": 419328,
"published_at": "2011-01-24T18:00:02.033+00:00"
}