strongMan vulnerable to private credential recovery due to key and counter reuse
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
strongMan is a management interface for strongSwan, an OpenSource IPsec-based VPN. When storing credentials in the database (private keys, EAP secrets), strongMan encrypts the corresponding database fields. So far it used AES in CTR mode with a global database key. Together with an initialization vector (IV), a key stream is generated to encrypt the data in the database fields. But because strongMan did not generate individual IVs, every database field was encrypted using the same key stream. An attacker that has access to the database can use this to recover the encrypted credentials. In particular, because certificates, which have to be considered public information, are also encrypted using the same mechanism, an attacker can directly recover a large chunk of the key stream, which allows them to decrypt basically all other secrets especially ECDSA private keys and EAP secrets, which are usually a lot shorter. Version 0.2.0 fixes the issue by switching to AES-GCM-SIV encryption with a random nonce and an individually derived encryption key, using HKDF, for each encrypted value. Database migrations are provided to automatically re-encrypt all credentials.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| strongSwan | strongMan | before 0.2.0 | 0.2.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- strongMan VendorstrongSwan Affected before 0.2.0 Fixed in 0.2.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:strongswan:strongman:0.1.0:*:*:*:*:python:*:* | 0.1.0 | Vulnerable | strongSwan |
- cpe:2.3:a:strongswan:strongman:0.1.0:*:*:*:*:python:*:* Versions 0.1.0 Vulnerable ·strongSwan
Remediation
- Fix · CNA strongMan (strongswan) Fixed in 0.2.0
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-25998
References
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences