Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication: Observable Timing Discrepancy (CVE-2026-74846)
Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
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.
Update Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication to version 0.10029.
- Affected
- Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication
lt *..0.10029
- Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication
- Fixed in
- Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication
0.10029
- Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication
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Metrics
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Priority
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CVSS v3
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EPSS score
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- Severity
- Not rated
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 30.00 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
CWE
CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.
Read in glossary- CWE-208
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
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.
Source: cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication |
|
|
Weakness classes (CWE)
CWE-208Observable Timing Discrepancy
Base
Two separate operations in a product require different amounts of time to complete, in a way that is observable to an actor and reveals security-relevant information about the state of the product, such as whether a particular operation was successful or not.
Entry at MITRE CWE-208
References & sources
- github.comperl-catalyst/Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication/commit/ba4435f1fa6…Patch
- metacpan.orgrelease/ETHER/Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication-0.10029/changesRelease notes
- CVE.org (MITRE)CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-5091
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
ReceivedCPANSec
Weakness type: CWE-208
Description added or changed
Show 6 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —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.Weakness type (CWE) added —CWE-208Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/74xxx/CVE-2026-74846.json">CVE-2026-74846</a>Reference added —https://github.com/perl-catalyst/Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication/commit/ba4435f1fa6b641e6c8793c88b5433afa83ceafa.patchReference added —https://metacpan.org/release/ETHER/Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication-0.10029/changesReference added —https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-5091Source identifier: 9b29abf9-4ab0-4765-b253-1875cd9b441e
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-74846"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-74846.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-74846 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>