VDB
CVE-2026-61898
CVE-2026-61898
PUBLISHED
CVSS 7.8 HIGH
Reported by canonical · Published August 20, 2026
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.
Risk Scores
CVSS 3.1
7.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Canonical | accountsservice | 22.07.5-2ubuntu1, 23.13.9-2ubuntu6, 23.13.9-8ubuntu5 |
| Canonical | accountsservice | 22.07.5-2ubuntu1, 23.13.9-2ubuntu6, 23.13.9-8ubuntu5 |
Timeline
- Aug 20, 2026 CVE Published
- Aug 20, 2026 CVE Updated
- Aug 22, 2026 Coalition ESS Score
- Aug 24, 2026 EPSS Score
- Sep 3, 2026 Security Advisory
- Sep 8, 2026 EPSS Score
References
- Launchpad Bug #2157985 issue-tracking
- Ubuntu CVE Tracker vendor-advisory