CVE-2026-17468Network attack vector

Session forgery via hard-coded signing key

Published Aug 13, 2026 · Updated Aug 13, 2026

Hard-coded cryptographic key use in IBM Documentation Offline 1.0.0 through 1.4.1 allows remote attackers to forge session tokens. The embedded Node.js server uses a default hard-coded session secret to validate tokens, so tokens signed with that shared secret are accepted. Exploitation requires network access to the embedded service and permits manipulation of client-side session state, with no direct data-read or code-execution impact reported for this CVE.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Hard-coded cryptographic key use in IBM Documentation Offline 1.0.0 through 1.4.1 allows remote attackers to forge session tokens. The embedded Node.js server uses a default hard-coded session secret to validate tokens, so tokens signed with that shared secret are accepted. Exploitation requires network access to the embedded service and permits manipulation of client-side session state, with no direct data-read or code-execution impact reported for this CVE.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-17468
Published
Aug 13, 2026
Updated
Aug 13, 2026
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Documentation Offline
Classifications
CWE-321, T1550.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 13, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1.0.0 <=1.4.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Documentation Offlineversion=1.0.0 <=1.4.1

Published CVSS scores

5.3IBMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-321Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key
T1550.004Web Session Cookie

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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