SEPTEMBER 19, 2026
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Case File

CVE-2026-61898

HIGH · CVSS 7.8 EPSS 0.13%

Source: NVD + CISA KEV + EPSS · Published 2026-08-20 · Last synced 2026-09-18

CyberRota Analysis

AI-Generated

The vulnerability affects the AccountsService helper scripts in Ubuntu, where user-controlled LANGUAGE entries in the ~/.pam_environment file are treated as trusted input. This flaw allows an attacker to inject arbitrary shell commands via a crafted LANGUAGE value, executing them with root privileges through the SetLanguage D-Bus method. System administrators and security teams managing Ubuntu environments should prioritize this issue to mitigate potential exploitation risks.

CVE
CVE-2026-61898
Severity
HIGH
CVSS
7.8
EPSS
0.13%
Ubuntu

Original NVD 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.