CVE-2023-4641
published 2023-12-27CVE-2023-4641: A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt…
PriorityP427medium5.5CVSS 3.1
AVLACLPRLUINSUCHINAN
EPSS
0.26%
16.3th percentile
A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt, shadow-utils fails in cleaning the buffer used to store the first entry. This may allow an attacker with enough access to retrieve the password from the memory.
Affected
23 ranges
| Vendor | Product | Version range | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| debian | shadow | < shadow 1:4.13+dfsg1-1+deb12u1 (bookworm) | shadow 1:4.13+dfsg1-1+deb12u1 (bookworm) |
| msrc | cbl2_shadow-utils_4.9-14_on_cbl_mariner_2.0 | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder_for_arm64 | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder_for_arm64 | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder_for_ibm_z_systems | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder_for_ibm_z_systems | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder_for_power_little_endian | — | — |
| redhat | codeready_linux_builder_for_power_little_endian | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_arm_64 | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_arm_64 | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian | — | — |
| shadow-maint | shadow-utils | < 4.14.0 | 4.14.0 |
| shadow_project | shadow | >= 0 < 1:4.8.1-1+deb11u1 | 1:4.8.1-1+deb11u1 |
| shadow_project | shadow | >= 0 < 1:4.13+dfsg1-1+deb12u1 | 1:4.13+dfsg1-1+deb12u1 |
| shadow_project | shadow | >= 0 < 1:4.13+dfsg1-2 | 1:4.13+dfsg1-2 |
| shadow_project | shadow | >= 0 < 1:4.13+dfsg1-2 | 1:4.13+dfsg1-2 |
CVSS provenance
nvdv3.15.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
osv5.5MEDIUM
vendor_oracle5.5MEDIUM
vendor_debian4.7MEDIUM
vendor_msrc4.7MEDIUM
vendor_redhat4.7MEDIUM
Stop checking back — get the weekly exploitation signal.
Every Monday: what got weaponized or added to CISA KEV in the last seven days — each CVE cross-linked to its PoC, Nuclei template, and detection rule. Free, one email a week, unsubscribe in one click.
Oracle
Oracle Oracle Communications Risk Matrix: Install/Upgrade (shadow-utils) — CVE-2023-4641
vendor_oracle·2024-04-15·CVSS 5.5
CVE-2023-4641 [MEDIUM] Oracle Oracle Communications Risk Matrix: Install/Upgrade (shadow-utils) — CVE-2023-4641
Oracle Oracle Communications Risk Matrix: Install/Upgrade (shadow-utils) vulnerability
CVE: CVE-2023-4641
CVSS: 5.5
Protocol: None
Remote exploit: No
Affected versions: Local
Advisory: cpuapr2024 (APR 2024)
Ubuntu
shadow vulnerability
vendor_ubuntu·2024-02-15
CVE-2023-4641 shadow vulnerability
Title: shadow vulnerability
Summary: shadow could be made to expose sensitive information.
It was discovered that shadow was not properly sanitizing memory when
running the password utility. An attacker could possibly use this issue
to retrieve a password from memory, exposing sensitive information.
Instructions: In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.
Microsoft
Shadow-utils: possible password leak during passwd(1) change
vendor_msrc·2023-12-12·CVSS 4.7
CVE-2023-4641 [MEDIUM] CWE-303 Shadow-utils: possible password leak during passwd(1) change
Shadow-utils: possible password leak during passwd(1) change
FAQ: Is Azure Linux the only Microsoft product that includes this open-source library and is therefore potentially affected by this vulnerability?
One of the main benefits to our customers who choose to use the Azure Linux distro is the commitment to keep it up to date with the most recent and most secure versions of the open source libraries with which the distro is composed. Microsoft is committed to transparency in this work which is why we began publishing CSAF/VEX in October 2025. See this blog post for more information. If impact to additional products is identified, we will update the CVE to reflect this.
Mariner: Mariner
redhat: redhat
Customer Action Required: Yes
Remediation: CBL-Mariner Releases
Reference: https:
Red Hat
shadow-utils: possible password leak during passwd(1) change
vendor_redhat·2023-06-17·CVSS 4.7
CVE-2023-4641 [MEDIUM] CWE-303 shadow-utils: possible password leak during passwd(1) change
shadow-utils: possible password leak during passwd(1) change
A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt, shadow-utils fails in cleaning the buffer used to store the first entry. This may allow an attacker with enough access to retrieve the password from the memory.
A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt, shadow-utils fails in cleaning the buffer used to store the first entry. This may allow an attacker with enough access to retrieve the password from the memory.
Statement: This vulnerability is classified as low severity despite of confidentiality is high because it requires a
Debian
CVE-2023-4641: shadow - A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils a...
vendor_debian·2023·CVSS 4.7
CVE-2023-4641 [MEDIUM] CVE-2023-4641: shadow - A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils a...
A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt, shadow-utils fails in cleaning the buffer used to store the first entry. This may allow an attacker with enough access to retrieve the password from the memory.
Scope: local
bookworm: resolved (fixed in 1:4.13+dfsg1-1+deb12u1)
bullseye: resolved (fixed in 1:4.8.1-1+deb11u1)
forky: resolved (fixed in 1:4.13+dfsg1-2)
sid: resolved (fixed in 1:4.13+dfsg1-2)
trixie: resolved (fixed in 1:4.13+dfsg1-2)
GHSA
GHSA-6ggv-mmg2-jf4r: A flaw was found in shadow-utils
ghsa_unreviewed·2023-12-27
CVE-2023-4641 [MEDIUM] CWE-287 GHSA-6ggv-mmg2-jf4r: A flaw was found in shadow-utils
A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt, shadow-utils fails in cleaning the buffer used to store the first entry. This may allow an attacker with enough access to retrieve the password from the memory.
OSV
CVE-2023-4641: A flaw was found in shadow-utils
osv·2023-12-27·CVSS 5.5
CVE-2023-4641 [MEDIUM] CVE-2023-4641: A flaw was found in shadow-utils
A flaw was found in shadow-utils. When asking for a new password, shadow-utils asks the password twice. If the password fails on the second attempt, shadow-utils fails in cleaning the buffer used to store the first entry. This may allow an attacker with enough access to retrieve the password from the memory.
No detection rules found.
No public exploits indexed.
No writeups or analysis indexed.
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:6632https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7112https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0417https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2577https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4641https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2215945https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:6632https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7112https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0417https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2577https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4641https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2215945https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/04/msg00026.html
2023-12-27
Published