Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2011-4966

critical Nessus Plugin ID 217454

Synopsis

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be patched.

Description

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

- modules/rlm_unix/rlm_unix.c in FreeRADIUS before 2.2.0, when unix mode is enabled for user authentication, does not properly check the password expiration in /etc/shadow, which allows remote authenticated users to authenticate using an expired password. (CVE-2011-4966)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

Solution

There is no known solution at this time.

See Also

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2011-4966

Plugin Details

Severity: Critical

ID: 217454

File Name: unpatched_CVE_2011_4966.nasl

Version: 1.2

Type: local

Agent: unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 3/3/2025

Updated: 1/28/2026

Supported Sensors: Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Agentless Assessment, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 5.2

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6

Temporal Score: 5.1

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2011-4966

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Critical

Base Score: 9.1

Temporal Score: 8.3

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:U/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:5, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:freeradius

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, global_settings/vendor_unpatched, Host/OS/identifier

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 11/21/2012

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2011-4966