CVE-2026-61898
accountsservice: shell injection via attacker-controlled ~/.pam_environment in Ubuntu language helper scripts
Description
The Ubuntu-specific language helper scripts (save-to-pam-env, update-langlist) shipped with accountsservice before 23.13.9-8ubuntu7 treat the user-controlled LANGUAGE entry in ~/.pam_environment as trusted input. The value is interpolated unescaped into a GNU sed replacement expression, allowing an attacker to inject a sed 'e' flag and arbitrary shell commands that execute with the privileges of the AccountsService helper process (real UID 0) via the SetLanguage D-Bus method.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 20, 2026, 3:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 20, 2026, 3:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update accountsservice to version 23.13.9-8ubuntu7 or later.
- Validate LANGUAGE entry sanitization in pam_env.
- Restrict shell command execution from pam_env.
- Apply security patches to accountsservice.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-61898.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/accountsservice/+bug/2157985 | |
| https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-61898 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-61898 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-61898
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-61898 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-61898 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Aug. 20, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'Canonical', 'product': 'accountsservice', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '22.07.5-2ubuntu1', 'lessThan': '22.07.5-2ubuntu1.6', 'versionType': 'dpkg'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '23.13.9-2ubuntu6', 'lessThan': '23.13.9-2ubuntu6.1', 'versionType': 'dpkg'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '23.13.9-8ubuntu5', 'lessThan': '23.13.9-8ubuntu5.2', 'versionType': 'dpkg'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '23.13.9-8ubuntu6', 'lessThan': '23.13.9-8ubuntu7', 'versionType': 'dpkg'}], 'platforms': ['Ubuntu 14.04 LTS', 'Ubuntu 16.04 LTS', 'Ubuntu 18.04 LTS', 'Ubuntu 20.04 LTS', 'Ubuntu 22.04 LTS', 'Ubuntu 24.04 LTS', 'Ubuntu 26.04 LTS', 'Ubuntu 26.10'], 'packageName': 'accountsservice', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description The Ubuntu-specific language helper scripts (save-to-pam-env, update-langlist) shipped with accountsservice before 23.13.9-8ubuntu7 treat the user-controlled LANGUAGE entry in ~/.pam_environment as trusted input. The value is interpolated unescaped into a GNU sed replacement expression, allowing an attacker to inject a sed 'e' flag and arbitrary shell commands that execute with the privileges of the AccountsService helper process (real UID 0) via the SetLanguage D-Bus method. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-78 Added Reference https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/accountsservice/+bug/2157985 Added Reference https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-61898