CVE-2026-61898

HIGH

7.8

CVSS v3

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.

CWE-78OS Command Injection

How to fix

Remediation Available

accountsserviceUbuntu

Fixed in:0.6.35-0ubuntu7.3+esm4USN-8580-2

Fixed in:0.6.40-2ubuntu11.6+esm2USN-8580-2

Fixed in:0.6.45-1ubuntu1.3+esm2USN-8580-2

Fixed in:0.6.55-0ubuntu12~20.04.7+esm1USN-8580-2

Fixed in:22.07.5-2ubuntu1.6USN-8580-1

Fixed in:23.13.9-2ubuntu6.1USN-8580-1

libaccountsservice0Ubuntu

Fixed in:22.07.5-2ubuntu1.6USN-8580-1

Fixed in:23.13.9-2ubuntu6.1USN-8580-1

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Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges RequiredLow

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

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

Exploit Intelligence

0.13%probability of exploitation in 30 days

3rdpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 3% of all known CVEs.

References

Other references2

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVE	Severity	CVSS	EPSS	Exploited	Fix
CVE-2021-1498	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV	Fix
CVE-2014-6271	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV	Fix
CVE-2019-16920	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV	-
CVE-2022-44877	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV	Fix
CVE-2020-8515	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV	-
CVE-2024-4577	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV + Ransom	Fix

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2026-61898?

Published advisories record a fix for 2 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.

Is CVE-2026-61898 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2026-61898 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.13% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 3% of all scored CVEs.

How severe is CVE-2026-61898?

CVE-2026-61898 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2026-61898 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for accountsservice (Ubuntu), libaccountsservice0 (Ubuntu). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-08-20.