VULNERABILITY INTELLIGENCE

CVE-2017-20002

CVSS score7.8 HIGH
EPSS probability0.40%
CISA KEVNot currently listed
Published2021-03-17
Last modified2026-06-17
CVSS vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Description

The Debian shadow package before 1:4.5-1 for Shadow incorrectly lists pts/0 and pts/1 as physical terminals in /etc/securetty. This allows local users to login as password-less users even if they are connected by non-physical means such as SSH (hence bypassing PAM's nullok_secure configuration). This notably affects environments such as virtual machines automatically generated with a default blank root password, allowing all local users to escalate privileges.

Weakness classification

  • CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

Primary references