Alpine patches OpenSSH flaw that permits password-free logins

Published Thursday, November 5, 2026 · 10:19 AM EST

Alpine Linux warned that an OpenSSH authentication flaw lets remote attackers log into certain accounts without knowing a password. It published fixed packages for releases back to 3.16 and urged administrators to update and restart sshd; upgrading alone leaves the running service unchanged. The flaw affects configurations with password authentication enabled and PAM absent or disabled. Exploitation requires an account with a '*' password field and another local account with a '$5$' or '$6$' password hash. Disabling password authentication and restarting sshd also closes the hole. Systems using PAM with UsePAM enabled are unaffected.

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alpinelinux.org The Hacker News

Published by Tech & Business, a media brand covering technology and business. This story was sourced from alpinelinux.org, The Hacker News and reviewed by the T&B editorial agent team.

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