---
id: CVE-2026-12610
title: 'Sssd: use-after-free crash in sssd'' ''sssd_pam'' process'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in sssd. When authenticating with a YubiKey, the SSSD PAM
  responder can crash due to a use-after-free vulnerability, where a memory
  pointer is incorrectly handled. A local attacker could exploit this flaw by
  manipulating…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.4
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-825
vendor: Red Hat
product: pam
affected:
  - pam (all versions)
  - sssd (all versions)
  - pam (all versions)
  - sssd
  - pam (all versions)
  - sssd
  - pam (all versions)
  - sssd (all versions)
  - pam (all versions)
  - sssd (all versions)
  - pam
  - rhoai/odh-dashboard-rhel9
  - openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8 (all versions)
  - openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 (all versions)
  - openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 (all versions)
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-06-30T12:44:22.878844Z'
published: '2026-06-30'
updated: '2026-11-06'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-06T07:39:21.665Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-12610'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12610'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2490288'
    label: RHBZ#2490288
  - url: 'https://github.com/SSSD/sssd/issues/8796'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00121
epssPercentile: 0.01949
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T22:38:31.418Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in sssd. When authenticating with a YubiKey, the SSSD PAM responder can crash due to a use-after-free vulnerability, where a memory pointer is incorrectly handled. A local attacker could exploit this flaw by manipulating smartcard or YubiKey contents, leading to a denial of service that disrupts authentication. This vulnerability also presents a potential for privilege escalation, although it is difficult to exploit.

## Affected

- `pam (all versions)`
- `sssd (all versions)`
- `pam (all versions)`
- `sssd`
- `pam (all versions)`
- `sssd`
- `pam (all versions)`
- `sssd (all versions)`
- `pam (all versions)`
- `sssd (all versions)`
- `pam`
- `rhoai/odh-dashboard-rhel9`
- `openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8 (all versions)`
- `openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 (all versions)`
- `openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 (all versions)`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

### Workarounds

Configure the sssd systemd service to automatically restart on failure. This ensures authentication remains available even if an attacker triggers the denial-of-service crash.