dbcve.org
NtopngApplication · Ntop

CVE-2026-38968

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.6 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available 8 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
ntopng through 6.6 is vulnerable to Predictable Session Identifier which can lead to Session Hijacking. HTTP session identifiers in src/HTTPserver.cpp use weak time-seeded pseudo-randomness during session creation. As a result, fresh authenticated logins can receive deterministic or colliding session cookies under attacker-controlled timing.

In the news

Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 1 outlet this week · latest 1mo ago

Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.

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 · moderate confidence

ntopng through version 6.6 generates HTTP session identifiers using weak time-seeded pseudo-random number generation in src/HTTPserver.cpp. This predictable randomness allows attackers to determine or collide with valid session cookies during authentication, enabling session hijacking of authenticated users.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of ntopng that implements cryptographically secure random session ID generation using a proper CSPRNG instead of time-seeded pseudo-randomness.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
NtopngApplication
Affected:<= 6.6

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm ntopng installation and version
    Run 'ntopng -V' or check the package manager (dpkg -l ntopng, rpm -qa ntopng) to find the installed version
    Affected if The installed version is 6.6 or any lower version (the vulnerability affects all versions through 6.6)
  2. Verify HTTP server is enabled
    Check ntopng configuration files (typically /etc/ntopng/ntopng.conf) for HTTP server settings, or inspect running processes for ntopng with HTTP listening ports (default 3000)
    Affected if ntopng is running with HTTP/HTTPS interface enabled - the weak PRNG only affects HTTP session ID generation
  3. Inspect session ID generation mechanism
    If source code is accessible, examine src/HTTPserver.cpp for the session ID generation function. Look for calls to time-based seeding of random number generators (such as srand(time()) or similar)
    Affected if The code uses time-seeded PRNG (srand with time value) for generating session identifiers instead of a cryptographically secure random number generator
  4. Test session ID predictability
    Generate multiple session IDs by authenticating at different times (or observe session cookies: ntopng_session cookie value). Compare the ID patterns - weak PRNGs may show time-correlated patterns in the generated IDs
    Affected if Session IDs show predictable patterns or correlation with timestamps, indicating they can be predicted or calculated based on timing

You are affected if ntopng version 6.6 or lower is running with HTTP interface enabled and session IDs are generated using time-seeded randomness that can be predicted.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 a release after 6.6
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of ntopng that implements cryptographically secure random session ID generation using a proper CSPRNG instead of time-seeded pseudo-randomness.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to ntopng version >6.6 (e.g., 6.6.1 or latest stable release). The fix is available in commit 14e22497233dc7d31d19dccb74b13bb073d16c2c.

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of ntopng using the package manager or binary version check
  2. 2. Download or upgrade to the latest stable release of ntopng from the official GitHub releases page (https://github.com/ntop/ntopng/releases) or official package repositories
  3. 3. Verify the new version is greater than 6.6 (e.g., 6.6.1 or later stable release)
  4. 4. Backup the current ntopng configuration directory (typically /etc/ntopng or /var/lib/ntopng)
  5. 5. Stop the ntopng service before upgrade
  6. 6. Install the new version of ntopng using the appropriate package manager (apt, yum, or compile from source with the fixed commit)
  7. 7. Restore the configuration if needed and start the ntopng service
  8. 8. Verify the HTTP session creation now uses proper cryptographically secure random session identifiers by inspecting the src/HTTPserver.cpp code in the new version
Caveat Minor: Review release notes for any configuration changes between 6.6 and the target version. Ensure backward compatibility with existing configuration files.

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

Fix this in Ntopng Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2026-38968 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data