Offline password cracking via weak random salts
Published Apr 15, 2026 · Updated Apr 15, 2026
Cryptographically weak salt generation in Apache2::API::Password 0 through 0.5.2 allows remote attackers to weaken password-hash resistance. The _make_salt and _make_salt_bcrypt methods return 16 bytes from Perl rand when Crypt::URandom and Bytes::Random::Secure cannot load. The condition exists only when both secure random modules are unavailable; it reduces resistance to offline guessing without directly revealing plaintext passwords.
Summary
What happened
Cryptographically weak salt generation in Apache2::API::Password 0 through 0.5.2 allows remote attackers to weaken password-hash resistance. The _make_salt and _make_salt_bcrypt methods return 16 bytes from Perl rand when Crypt::URandom and Bytes::Random::Secure cannot load. The condition exists only when both secure random modules are unavailable; it reduces resistance to offline guessing without directly revealing plaintext passwords.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-5088
- Published
- Apr 15, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 15, 2026
- Vendor
- Jacques Deguest
- Product
- Apache2::API::Password
- Classifications
- CWE-338, T1110.002
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 15, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <=v0.5.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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