Bug#331005: sshd[27912]: fatal: PAM: pam_setcred(): Critical error - immediate abort

["Brent G." <overlordq@gmail.com>]

Package: openssh-server
Version: 1:4.2p1-4
Severity: important

Trying to login as a user using keyboard/password authentication results in:

----
Read from remote host thedarkcitadel.com: Connection reset by peer
Connection to thedarkcitadel.com closed.
----

In syslog you have the following:
----
Sep 30 20:08:16 thedarkcitadel sshd[27905]: Accepted keyboard-interactive/pam for ovrlrdq from 70.178.82.111 port 2305 ssh2
Sep 30 20:08:16 thedarkcitadel sshd[27912]: (pam_unix) session opened for user ovrlrdq by (uid=0)
Sep 30 20:08:16 thedarkcitadel sshd[27912]: fatal: PAM: pam_setcred(): Critical error - immediate abort
Sep 30 20:08:17 thedarkcitadel sshd[27912]: (pam_unix) session closed for user ovrlrdq
----

Luckily if logging in using authorized keys, the operation is successfull otherwise there would be no way to login to the box.

Contents of /etc/pam.d/ssh/ :
----
auth       required     pam_env.so # [1]
@include common-auth
@include common-account
@include common-session
session    optional     pam_motd.so # [1]
session    optional     pam_mail.so standard noenv # [1]
session    required     pam_limits.so
@include common-password
----

Contents of /etc/pam.d/common-auth :
----
auth    required        pam_unix.so nullok_secure
----

Contents of /etc/pam.d/common-account :
----
account required        pam_unix.so
----

Contents of /etc/pam.d/common-session :
----
session required        pam_unix.so
----

Contents of /etc/pam.d/common-password :
---
password   required   pam_unix.so nullok obscure min=4 max=8 md5
---

-- System Information:
Debian Release: testing/unstable
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Shell:  /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Kernel: Linux 2.6.12.3-linode14
Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=C (charmap=ANSI_X3.4-1968)

Versions of packages openssh-server depends on:
ii  adduser                      3.67.1      Add and remove users and groups
ii  debconf [debconf-2.0]        1.4.58      Debian configuration management sy
ii  dpkg                         1.13.11.0.1 package maintenance system for Deb
ii  libc6                        2.3.5-6     GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii  libcomerr2                   1.38-2      common error description library
ii  libkrb53                     1.3.6-5     MIT Kerberos runtime libraries
ii  libpam-modules               0.79-2      Pluggable Authentication Modules f
ii  libpam-runtime               0.79-2      Runtime support for the PAM librar
ii  libpam0g                     0.79-2      Pluggable Authentication Modules l
ii  libselinux1                  1.26-1      SELinux shared libraries
ii  libssl0.9.7                  0.9.7g-3    SSL shared libraries
ii  libwrap0                     7.6.dbs-8   Wietse Venema's TCP wrappers libra
ii  openssh-client               1:4.2p1-4   Secure shell client, an rlogin/rsh
ii  zlib1g                       1:1.2.3-4   compression library - runtime

openssh-server recommends no packages.

-- debconf information:
  ssh/insecure_rshd:
  ssh/insecure_telnetd:
  ssh/new_config: true
* ssh/use_old_init_script: true
  ssh/encrypted_host_key_but_no_keygen:
  ssh/disable_cr_auth: false