CVE-2008-1946

The default configuration of su in /etc/pam.d/su in GNU coreutils 5.2.1 allows local users to gain the privileges of a (1) locked or (2) expired account by entering the account name on the command line, related to improper use of the pam_succeed_if.so module.

Published: 2008-07-28 Last update: 2026-04-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2008-1946 is rated Low Risk (25.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.31%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2008-1946

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.07% 0.31% +0.24%
2 2025-03-17 0.04% 0.07% +0.03%
3 2023-03-07 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2008-1946

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 3.4 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2008-1946

OS Trackers for CVE-2008-1946

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2008-1946 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (coreutils), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2008-1946
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2008-1946
ubuntu medium CVE-2008-1946 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (coreutils), 5 status rows across 5 suites (dapper, feisty, gutsy, hardy, upstream): not-affected 4, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2008-1946

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2008-1946

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gnu coreutils 5.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:coreutils:5.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2008-1946

cvelogic Threat Intelligence