Weak backup key derivation in CallBackery lets attackers recover passwords
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
CallBackery versions before 0.62.0 for Perl encrypt configuration backups with the padded password as the AES key. The key is formed by padding the password with "x" characters and cutting it to 32 bytes, with no salt and no key derivation, so a backup password can be checked by guessing at raw AES speed (CWE-916). An attacker who obtains a backup can recover its password by fast offline guessing and then read every credential the backup holds.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
CallBackery versions before 0.62.0 for Perl encrypt configuration backups with the padded password as the AES key. getCrypt() pads the backup password with "x" characters and cuts it to 32 bytes to form the AES key, with no salt and no key derivation. The first block of a backup holds a 16 hex digit length field, so decrypting one block confirms a password guess at raw AES speed. An attacker who obtains a backup can recover its password by fast offline guessing, and with it every credential the backup holds.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CallBackery | before 0.62.0 | 0.62.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- CallBackery Vendor— Affected before 0.62.0 Fixed in 0.62.0 Patch available CNA
Remediation
Upgrade CallBackery to version 0.62.0, which fixes the flaw.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA CallBackery Fixed in 0.62.0
Timeline
- 2026-10-30 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-118991
- 2026-10-30 Alias added: GHSA-8xrx-f9pw-qp4w
- 2026-11-06 CVSS score added · CISA ADP
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Sources
- CVE-2026-118991 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-118991 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8xrx-f9pw-qp4w · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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