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CWE-170Weakness · CWE-170

CVE-2026-8721

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 versions through 1.94 for Perl truncates passwords with embedded NULLs. Password parameters in PKCS12.xs are declared char *, which routes through Perl's default typemap to SvPV_nolen. The Perl length is discarded. The C code (or OpenSSL internally) calls strlen() on the buffer. Any password byte at or after the first NULL is silently dropped. Binary / KDF-derived / HMAC-derived passwords lose entropy without any warnings.

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 · high confidence

The Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 Perl module through version 1.94 suffers from a password truncation vulnerability. Password parameters in the XS code are declared as char * and route through Perl's default typemap to SvPV_nolen, which discards Perl's internal string length. When C code or OpenSSL calls strlen() on the password buffer, it stops at the first embedded NULL byte, silently truncating any subsequent characters. This causes complete entropy loss for binary, KDF-derived, or HMAC-derived passwords.

MitigationAvoid using passwords containing embedded NULL bytes with affected versions until a patched release is available; consider alternative password handling or check for NULL bytes in inputs as a workaround.

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

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. Verify Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 is installed
    Run: perl -M Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 -e 'print $Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12::VERSION'
    Affected if Module is not installed or command fails (not affected)
  2. Determine installed version
    The output from step 1 shows the version number
    Affected if Version is 1.94 or lower (likely affected)
  3. Check for explicit version confirmation
    Run: perl -M Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 -e 'print qq{Version: $Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12::VERSION }'
    Affected if Version string shows 1.94 or below (affected)
  4. Identify password usage patterns
    Review code that calls PKCS12_new, PKCS12_parse, or similar functions from this module to see what password types are passed
    Affected if Binary passwords, KDF-derived passwords, or HMAC-derived passwords are passed to the module (affected)

You are affected if Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 version 1.94 or lower is installed AND binary/KDF-derived/HMAC-derived passwords containing embedded NULL bytes are used with the module.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Avoid using passwords containing embedded NULL bytes with affected versions until a patched release is available; consider alternative password handling or check for NULL bytes in inputs as a workaround.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 version 1.95 or later

  1. Check current version of Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 installed: `perl -MCrypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 -e 'print $Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12::VERSION' "'
  2. If version is 1.94 or earlier, upgrade to the latest available version using: `cpan -T Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12` or `cpanm Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12`
  3. Verify the new version includes the fix for embedded NULL password handling
  4. If automatic upgrade is not possible, contact the module maintainer for a patched release

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2026-8721 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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