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Vulnerability · Published Nov 3, 2026 · Assigned by CPANSec

CVE-2026-74846Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication versions before 0.10029 for Perl allow timing attacks on stored passwords via eq comparisons in the legacy password verifier

Unrated

In plain English

A security flaw in Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 20% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS )–Not rated
Exploit odds (30 days)0.3%top 80.2% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsnot in CISA KEV
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication versions before 0.10029 for Perl allow timing attacks on stored passwords via eq comparisons in the legacy password verifier. CVE-2026-5091 was fixed in the realm-based verifier. The legacy verifier, used by the deprecated login method, compares clear-text passwords, crypt hashes and base64 digests with eq, so the comparison time depends on how many leading bytes match. A remote attacker can use response-time differences to guess the stored password or hash.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:12libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perlno fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-74846
Debian:13libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perlno fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-74846
Debian:14libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perlno fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-74846
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlibcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-74846
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlibcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-74846
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSlibcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-74846
Ubuntu:26.10libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perlno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-74846

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication 0 – before 0.10029

Weakness: CWE-208

References