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Net\Application · Timlegge

CVE-2026-18089

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-08-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.86 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 2 weeks old

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Net::SAML2 versions before 0.86 for Perl allow SAML authentication bypass by verifying responses against the response-embedded certificate in verify_xml when no trust anchor is configured. verify_xml in Net::SAML2::Role::VerifyXML runs "return if !$anchors && !$cacert;" as soon as the XML::Sig check succeeds, and that check uses the X.509 certificate taken from the response's own dsig:KeyInfo/dsig:X509Certificate element, so an unanchored response is checked only against the key it carries. Binding::POST declares cacert as an optional Maybe[Str] with no default, so a POST binding built without one takes that path, and _verify_encrypted_assertion returns early the same way with "return $xml unless $cacert;". Any caller that constructs Binding::POST or calls Assertion->new_from_xml without a cacert, cert_text, or anchors argument accepts a response signed by an attacker generated key whose self-signed certificate is embedded in that response, authenticating an arbitrary assertion.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-295

The application does not properly validate the TLS certificate presented by the other side — skipping the chain, the hostname, or expiry — so an attacker with a forged or mismatched certificate can sit in the middle of a supposedly secure connection. It is a common trap in custom clients and misconfigured libraries. The fix is full certificate validation, and never disabling verification to make errors go away.

General guidance for the improper certificate validation class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Net\Application
Affected:< 0.86

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 0.86 or later
Fixed in 0.86
Recommended fix High confidence

Net::SAML2 version 0.86

  1. Check the current version of Net::SAML2 in your Perl environment using 'cpan -D Net::SAML2' or by checking your project's dependencies
  2. Upgrade Net::SAML2 to version 0.86 or later using 'cpan Net::SAML2' or 'cpanm Net::SAML2'
  3. If using a build tool like Carton, Dist::Zilla, or EB::Perldeps, update your dependency specification to require Net::SAML2 >= 0.86
  4. After upgrading, ensure your application still functions correctly by running your test suite
  5. Verify that your SAML configuration explicitly provides cacert, cert_text, or anchors parameters when constructing Binding::POST or calling Assertion->new_from_xml to ensure proper certificate validation

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,950. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-18089 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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