CVE-2026-127100
Description
A flaw was found in SSSD's PAM responder on builds with the JSON PAM extension enabled. A local attacker can submit a crafted authentication request containing a non-string OAuth2 code value. Missing JSON type validation leads to a NULL pointer dereference, terminating the PAM responder and disrupting SSSD-backed authentication.
Statement
Red Hat rates this flaw as Moderate. A local user can cause denial of service of SSSD-backed PAM authentication on builds containing the affected JSON extension. The maintainer identifies RHEL 9.8 and RHEL 10.2 as the releases beginning to enable the extension. This does not establish that every later build remains vulnerable. No confidentiality or integrity impact is established.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
H-08: A local low-privileged user with PAM socket access sends crafted JSON with a non-string OAuth2 code. Low attack complexity, no user interaction, unchanged scope. No established confidentiality or integrity impact; PAM responder termination disrupts authentication and can be retriggered. Requires HAVE_GDM_CUSTOM_JSON_PAM_EXTENSION; maintainer identifies enablement beginning with RHEL 9.8 and 10.2. Assessment from PSIRTSUPT-25890.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Priyank Nigam (Microsoft Cloud Security) for reporting this issue.
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