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Vulnerability · Published Jul 10, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

CVE-2026-54736Phalcon: Non-constant-time HMAC verification in `Encryption\Crypt::decrypt` (timing side-channel)

High 8.2

In plain English

A high-severity security flaw in cphalcon from phalcon. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 8% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 4.0)8.2High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 92.3% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

Phalcon is a high-performance, full-stack PHP framework. Prior to 5.14.1, Phalcon\Encryption\Crypt::decrypt compares the attacker-supplied HMAC tag against the freshly computed HMAC using PHP/Zephir identity comparison, which lowers to a byte-wise comparison that returns early on the first differing byte. This observable timing discrepancy can allow an attacker to recover a valid tag byte-by-byte and attach it to a chosen IV and ciphertext so that decrypt() accepts tampered encrypted content as authentic. This issue is fixed in version 5.14.1.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Packagistphalcon/cphalcon5.14.1GHSA-8jqh-95g6-7jpj

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
phalcon cphalcon < 5.14.1

Weakness: CWE-208, CWE-347 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

References