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 products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Catalyst-Plugin-Authentication | < 0.10029 | 0.10029 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | 0.10029-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl | No fix yet | — |