How severe is CVE-2026-85649?

CVE-2026-85649 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.9, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.

Is CVE-2026-85649 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (9th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2026-85649?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2026-85649 published?

CVE-2026-85649 was published on 2026-09-04 and last updated on 2026-09-08.

CVE-2026-85649

CVE-2026-85649 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.9. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-252.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.9)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (9th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-252
Published: 2026-09-04
Last modified: 2026-09-08

Description

(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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-85649?: (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.
How severe is CVE-2026-85649?: CVE-2026-85649 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.9, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.
Is CVE-2026-85649 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (9th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-85649?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2026-85649 published?: CVE-2026-85649 was published on 2026-09-04 and last updated on 2026-09-08.

References

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