CVE-2026-74846
Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication versions before 0.10029 for Perl allow timing attacks on stored passwords via eq comparisons in the legacy password verifier
What happened?
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 software and versions
| Software | Version information | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication | affected: 0 to < 0.10029 | See vendor advisory |
Version information comes from the source record and can include unaffected products and exceptions. Distribution packages may contain backported fixes: an older upstream version alone does not prove a server is affected.
Is it being exploited?
This CVE was not listed in the CISA catalogue at our last retrieval. This does not establish that exploitation is absent.
How to respond
- Confirm the product, installed package version, and any configuration requirements in the vendor advisory.
- Follow the vendor’s remediation or workaround guidance in the references below. Structured fixed-version data is unavailable here; the publisher’s description may include a fix or workaround.
- Restart affected services if required, then verify the running version. Known exploitation may warrant investigation as well as patching.