CVE-2026-75870 (CVSS 9.1)

Description

Punk versions before 0.18 for Perl allow session cookie forgery via an empty default HMAC key when a session is declared without a secret. The session keyword freezes its options onto the application as given: it does not require a secret, warn, or refuse to start when one is absent. The cookie read and the write-back both default that key to the empty string, so a declaration with no secret option, or with an undefined or empty one, signs and verifies with a zero-length HMAC-SHA256 key. An attacker who knows the cookie format can then mint one offline carrying any contents the session holds, such as a user identifier or a role. Nothing marks the misconfiguration at runtime: cookies are well formed and sessions round-trip as expected.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

9.1

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0022

Probability of exploitation

0.12%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-1394 CWE-1394

References

Other References

https://metacpan.org/release/LNATION/Punk-0.17/source/include/punk/punk_session.h https://metacpan.org/release/LNATION/Punk-0.17/view/lib/Punk.pm https://metacpan.org/release/LNATION/Punk-0.18/source/Changes http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/08/22/5

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-75870? +

Punk versions before 0.18 for Perl allow session cookie forgery via an empty default HMAC key when a session is declared without a secret. The session keyword freezes its options onto the application as given: it does not require a secret, warn, or refuse to start when one is absent. The cookie read and the write-back both default that key to the empty string, so a declaration with no secret option, or with an undefined or empty one, signs and verifies with a zero-length HMAC-SHA256 key. An attacker who knows the cookie format can then mint one offline carrying any contents the session holds, such as a user identifier or a role. Nothing marks the misconfiguration at runtime: cookies are well formed and sessions round-trip as expected. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-75870? +

CVE-2026-75870 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.1 out of 10, rated CRITICAL. This is a critical vulnerability that should be patched immediately. The EPSS score is 0.0022, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-75870? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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