Advisory Published

USN-6640-1: shadow vulnerability

First published: Thu Feb 15 2024(Updated: )

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.

Affected SoftwareAffected VersionHow to fix
All of
ubuntu/libsubid-dev<1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
Ubuntu=23.10
All of
ubuntu/libsubid4<1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
Ubuntu=23.10
All of
ubuntu/login<1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
Ubuntu=23.10
All of
ubuntu/passwd<1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
Ubuntu=23.10
All of
ubuntu/uidmap<1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
1:4.13+dfsg1-1ubuntu1.1
Ubuntu=23.10
All of
ubuntu/login<1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2
1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2
Ubuntu=22.04
All of
ubuntu/passwd<1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2
1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2
Ubuntu=22.04
All of
ubuntu/uidmap<1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2
1:4.8.1-2ubuntu2.2
Ubuntu=22.04
All of
ubuntu/login<1:4.8.1-1ubuntu5.20.04.5
1:4.8.1-1ubuntu5.20.04.5
Ubuntu=20.04
All of
ubuntu/passwd<1:4.8.1-1ubuntu5.20.04.5
1:4.8.1-1ubuntu5.20.04.5
Ubuntu=20.04
All of
ubuntu/uidmap<1:4.8.1-1ubuntu5.20.04.5
1:4.8.1-1ubuntu5.20.04.5
Ubuntu=20.04
All of
ubuntu/login<1:4.5-1ubuntu2.5+esm1
1:4.5-1ubuntu2.5+esm1
Ubuntu=18.04
All of
ubuntu/passwd<1:4.5-1ubuntu2.5+esm1
1:4.5-1ubuntu2.5+esm1
Ubuntu=18.04
All of
ubuntu/uidmap<1:4.5-1ubuntu2.5+esm1
1:4.5-1ubuntu2.5+esm1
Ubuntu=18.04
All of
ubuntu/login<1:4.2-3.1ubuntu5.5+esm4
1:4.2-3.1ubuntu5.5+esm4
Ubuntu=16.04
All of
ubuntu/passwd<1:4.2-3.1ubuntu5.5+esm4
1:4.2-3.1ubuntu5.5+esm4
Ubuntu=16.04
All of
ubuntu/uidmap<1:4.2-3.1ubuntu5.5+esm4
1:4.2-3.1ubuntu5.5+esm4
Ubuntu=16.04
All of
ubuntu/login<1:4.1.5.1-1ubuntu9.5+esm4
1:4.1.5.1-1ubuntu9.5+esm4
Ubuntu=14.04
All of
ubuntu/passwd<1:4.1.5.1-1ubuntu9.5+esm4
1:4.1.5.1-1ubuntu9.5+esm4
Ubuntu=14.04
All of
ubuntu/uidmap<1:4.1.5.1-1ubuntu9.5+esm4
1:4.1.5.1-1ubuntu9.5+esm4
Ubuntu=14.04

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Reference Links

Child vulnerabilities

(Contains the following vulnerabilities)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the severity of USN-6640-1?

    The severity of USN-6640-1 is classified as a high risk due to the potential for sensitive information exposure.

  • How do I fix USN-6640-1?

    To fix USN-6640-1, update the affected packages to the latest version provided by your Ubuntu distribution.

  • Which Ubuntu versions are affected by USN-6640-1?

    USN-6640-1 affects Ubuntu versions 23.10, 22.04, 20.04, 18.04, 16.04, and 14.04.

  • What packages are impacted by USN-6640-1?

    USN-6640-1 impacts the packages libsubid-dev, libsubid4, login, passwd, and uidmap.

  • What kind of vulnerability is described in USN-6640-1?

    USN-6640-1 describes a memory sanitization vulnerability that may allow attackers to retrieve passwords from memory.

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