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.
This vulnerability carries a CRITICAL severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from freebsd organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2023-06-22T17:15:44.833
2024-11-21T08:17:01.307
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 9.8 (CRITICAL)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | < 12.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | < 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 12.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 12.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 12.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 12.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 12.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | freebsd | freebsd | 13.2 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For freebsd's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.