📄 Description (English)
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.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-25506 is a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in MUNGE authentication daemon (versions 0.5 to 0.5.17) that allows local attackers to extract cryptographic key material from process memory. Attackers can leverage leaked MAC subkeys to forge arbitrary credentials and impersonate any user, including root, on systems relying on MUNGE for authentication. This vulnerability poses severe risk to HPC clusters, research institutions, and enterprise environments using MUNGE for distributed authentication. Immediate patching to version 0.5.18 or later is essential.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 29, 2026 15:35
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations operating HPC clusters, research institutions (KAUST, universities), and government research facilities using MUNGE for distributed authentication are at significant risk. The vulnerability affects: (1) Research & Academic Sector - universities and research centers using MUNGE for cluster authentication; (2) Government IT Infrastructure - agencies utilizing distributed computing environments; (3) Energy Sector - ARAMCO and related entities operating technical computing clusters; (4) Telecommunications - STC and other operators managing network infrastructure with MUNGE-based authentication. The ability to forge credentials as root-equivalent users could lead to complete system compromise, unauthorized access to sensitive research data, and lateral movement across distributed systems.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Research & Academic Institutions
Government IT Infrastructure
Energy Sector (ARAMCO, related entities)
Telecommunications (STC, operators)
High-Performance Computing Centers
Scientific Research Facilities
Enterprise IT Infrastructure
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1110 - Brute Force (credential forgery)
T1040 - Network Sniffing (capture MUNGE traffic)
T1003 - OS Credential Dumping (extract cryptographic keys from memory)
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism (privilege escalation via forged root credentials)
T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application (buffer overflow exploitation)
T1078 - Valid Accounts (use forged credentials for lateral movement)
T1556 - Modify Authentication Process (compromise MUNGE authentication)
T1040 - Network Sniffing (intercept MUNGE authentication traffic)
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all systems running MUNGE versions 0.5 to 0.5.17 using: rpm -qa | grep munge or dpkg -l | grep munge
2. Restrict local access to munged daemon - limit user accounts with local shell access
3. Implement strict file permissions on MUNGE socket files (/var/run/munge/munge.sock.2)
4. Monitor for suspicious credential validation attempts in munged logs
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Upgrade MUNGE to version 0.5.18 or later immediately
2. For Debian 11: apt-get update && apt-get install munge=0.5.18-1 (or later)
3. For openSUSE: zypper update munge to 0.5.18+
4. Restart munged service: systemctl restart munge
5. Verify patch installation: munge --version
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if immediate patching delayed):
1. Disable MUNGE authentication temporarily if not critical to operations
2. Implement SELinux/AppArmor policies to restrict munged process capabilities
3. Use Linux kernel seccomp filters to restrict munged syscalls
4. Implement network segmentation to isolate systems using MUNGE
5. Enable audit logging: auditctl -w /var/run/munge/ -p wa -k munge_access
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for munged crashes or restarts: journalctl -u munge -f
2. Alert on failed credential validations in munged logs
3. Detect oversized MUNGE messages: tcpdump -i lo 'tcp port 11002' -A
4. Monitor /proc/[munged_pid]/maps for unexpected memory access patterns
5. Implement YARA rule to detect crafted MUNGE messages with malformed address length fields
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع الأنظمة التي تقوم بتشغيل إصدارات MUNGE من 0.5 إلى 0.5.17 باستخدام: rpm -qa | grep munge أو dpkg -l | grep munge
2. تقييد الوصول المحلي إلى خادم munged - تحديد حسابات المستخدمين التي لها وصول shell محلي
3. تطبيق أذونات ملفات صارمة على ملفات مقبس MUNGE (/var/run/munge/munge.sock.2)
4. مراقبة محاولات التحقق من بيانات الاعتماد المريبة في سجلات munged
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. ترقية MUNGE إلى الإصدار 0.5.18 أو أحدث فوراً
2. لـ Debian 11: apt-get update && apt-get install munge=0.5.18-1 (أو أحدث)
3. لـ openSUSE: zypper update munge إلى 0.5.18+
4. إعادة تشغيل خدمة munged: systemctl restart munge
5. التحقق من تثبيت التصحيح: munge --version
الضوابط البديلة (إذا تأخر التصحيح الفوري):
1. تعطيل مصادقة MUNGE مؤقتاً إذا لم تكن حرجة للعمليات
2. تطبيق سياسات SELinux/AppArmor لتقييد قدرات عملية munged
3. استخدام مرشحات seccomp لنواة Linux لتقييد استدعاءات munged
4. تطبيق تقسيم الشبكة لعزل الأنظمة التي تستخدم MUNGE
5. تفعيل تسجيل التدقيق: auditctl -w /var/run/munge/ -p wa -k munge_access
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة أعطال munged أو إعادة التشغيل: journalctl -u munge -f
2. التنبيه على فشل التحقق من بيانات الاعتماد في سجلات munged
3. كشف رسائل MUNGE الكبيرة: tcpdump -i lo 'tcp port 11002' -A
4. مراقبة /proc/[munged_pid]/maps للكشف عن أنماط الوصول إلى الذاكرة غير المتوقعة
5. تطبيق قاعدة YARA للكشف عن رسائل MUNGE المزيفة ذات حقول طول العنوان المشوهة
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Access Control Policies (credential forgery prevention)
ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 - User Registration and Access Rights Management
ECC 2024 A.6.2.1 - Restriction of Access to Information (cryptographic key protection)
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - User Endpoint Devices (local attack surface reduction)
ECC 2024 A.8.3.1 - Information and Other Assets (memory protection)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-2 - Asset Management (inventory MUNGE deployments)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control Policy (credential management)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access Rights (prevent privilege escalation via forged credentials)
SAMA CSF PR.DS-2 - Data Security (cryptographic key material protection)
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Detection Processes (monitor for exploitation attempts)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 - Information Security Policies (authentication policy)
ISO 27001:2022 A.6.2 - Access Control (user authentication and authorization)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Asset Management (cryptographic asset inventory)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Media Handling (memory protection controls)
ISO 27001:2022 A.10.1 - Cryptography (key material protection)
🔗 References & Sources 6
🔗
https://github.com/dun/munge/commit/bf40cc27c4ce8451d4b062c9de0b67ec40894812
security-advisories@github.com
Patch
🔗
https://github.com/dun/munge/releases/tag/munge-0.5.18
security-advisories@github.com
Product
Release Notes
🔗
https://github.com/dun/munge/security/advisories/GHSA-r9cr-jf4v-75gh
security-advisories@github.com
Mitigation
Patch
Vendor Advisory
🔗
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/02/10/3
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Mailing List
Patch
Third Party Advisory
🔗
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/02/17/6
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Mailing List
Third Party Advisory
🔗
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/02/msg00015.html
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Mailing List
Third Party Advisory
📦 Affected Products / CPE 2 entries
opensuse:munge
debian:debian_linux:11.0