CVE-2026-85649

7.9 HIGH 0.2% exploit odds Fix listed Other

What it is

(Holloway) Chew, Kean Ho's Actualizer v1.2.0 and earlier contains a fail-open password validation vulnerability in the Alpha user and root user password loops of Shell/debian-minbase-install.sh. The installer invokes mkpasswd to generate yescrypt password hashes but does not check the command's return value and unconditionally accepts the result. If mkpasswd fails to generate a yescrypt hash, for example because an incompatible mkpasswd implementation or an environment without yescrypt support is used, the resulting password hash variable can be empty and the build proceeds. The resulting image can therefore contain empty password fields for the root and alpha accounts, potentially permitting passwordless authentication depending on the authentication configuration.

At a glance

Exploitability: Can be exploited locally on the machine with an admin-level account. High risk of data exposure, data tampering.
Exploit odds: 0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Fix: A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

2026-09-04 13:20 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2026-09-08 14:11 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Severity: 7.9 HIGH (CVSS).
Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published: 2026-09-04 13:20 UTC
Last modified: 2026-09-08 14:11 UTC
Exploit probability: 0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days
Weakness: CWE-252
Record status: Awaiting Analysis

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.9

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: Low
Privileges needed: High
User interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Raw vector

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

Is it in your code?

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Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-85649.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-85649. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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Fix and advisories

References

NVD record · CVE.org record