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CVE Record

CVE-2026-25506: MUNGE has a buffer overflow in message unpacking allows key leakage and credential forgery

MUNGE is an authentication service for creating and validating user credentials. From 0.5 to 0.5.17, local attacker can exploit a buffer overflow vulnerability in munged (the MUNGE authentication daemon) to leak cryptographic key material from process memory. With the leaked key material, the attacker could forge arbitrary MUNGE credentials to impersonate any user (including root) to services that rely on MUNGE for authentication. The vulnerability allows a buffer overflow by sending a crafted message with an oversized address length field, corrupting munged's internal state and enabling extraction of the MAC subkey used for credential verification. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.5.18.

HighCVSS 7.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

MUNGE is used to authenticate users to services, often in clustered Linux environments. This flaw lets a local user attack the munged daemon, potentially expose key material, and forge credentials as another user, including root, if services trust MUNGE credentials.

Executive priority

Prioritize patching on shared compute, HPC, and multi-user Linux environments. The main business risk is identity impersonation inside trusted services, not remote internet-wide compromise.

Technical view

CVE-2026-25506 is a buffer overflow in MUNGE message unpacking, affecting versions 0.5 through before 0.5.18. A crafted message with an oversized address length can corrupt munged state and expose MAC subkey material, enabling credential forgery. CVSS is 7.7 high with local, low-privilege access required.

Likely exposure

Systems running MUNGE versions >= 0.5 and < 0.5.18 are potentially exposed, especially multi-user clusters where local users can reach munged and downstream services rely on MUNGE authentication.

Exploitation context

The sources describe local exploitation requiring low privileges and high attack complexity. The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation in the wild.

Researcher notes

Focus validation on vulnerable version presence, local access paths to munged, and trust relationships with services consuming MUNGE credentials. Do not assume remote exploitability from the provided evidence.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade MUNGE to 0.5.18 or a vendor-fixed package.
  • Apply relevant Red Hat RHSA or Debian LTS updates where applicable.
  • Check vendor guidance before deciding key rotation or incident response steps.
  • Limit local account access on systems running munged where feasible.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems for installed MUNGE and munged service usage.
  • Confirm installed MUNGE version is 0.5.18 or vendor-patched.
  • Map services that rely on MUNGE authentication for user identity.
  • Review applicable Red Hat, Debian, or upstream advisories for package status.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
11

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-120: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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description · low confidence lookup

Credential and access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-25506 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.7 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

2CVSS vectors
5Timeline events
3ADP providers
21Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

2 official scores

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.7CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L1.16GitHub_M
7.7CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L1.16redhat-SADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.7High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2026-25506Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Made public.

  3. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  4. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Reported to Red Hat.

  5. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
CVECVE Program Container
redhat-SADPMUNGE: MUNGE has a buffer overflow in message unpacking allows key leakage and credential forgery
other:Red Hat severity ratingcvssV3_1
  • 2026-02-10T20:02:45.975Z: Reported to Red Hat.
  • 2026-02-10T18:55:57.708Z: Made public.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
dunmunge>= 0.5, < 0.5.18Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-120CWE-787

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-120 · source CWE mapping

Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')

Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs
CWE-787 · source CWE mapping

Out-of-bounds Write

Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs