Executive Summary

The CVE-2026-45179 vulnerability affects versions of Plack::Middleware::Statsd prior to 0.9.0. It involves the potential leakage of sensitive information, specifically users' IP addresses, when the communication channel to the statsd daemon is unsecured, such as through UDP packets sent over an unprotected network.

In these affected versions, IP addresses are logged directly to statsd, which can expose them to unauthorized parties. Starting with version 0.9.0, IP addresses are no longer logged by default, and if logging is configured, an HMAC signature of the IP address is used instead to prevent plaintext exposure.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to the exposure of users' IP addresses if the communication channel to the statsd daemon is not secured. Such exposure can compromise user privacy and potentially allow attackers to track or identify users based on their IP information.

Since the IP addresses are transmitted in cleartext in affected versions, attackers who can intercept the network traffic may obtain this sensitive information.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring network traffic for unsecured communication channels to the statsd daemon, especially UDP packets sent over unprotected networks that may contain user IP addresses in plaintext.

You can use network packet capture tools such as tcpdump or Wireshark to inspect UDP traffic to the statsd daemon and check if user IP addresses are being transmitted in cleartext.

• Use tcpdump to capture UDP packets to the statsd server: sudo tcpdump -i <interface> udp and host <statsd_server_ip>
• Analyze captured packets with Wireshark to look for user IP addresses sent in plaintext.

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Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability immediately, upgrade Plack::Middleware::Statsd to version 0.9.0 or later, where IP addresses are no longer logged in plaintext.

If upgrading is not immediately possible, ensure that the communication channel to the statsd daemon is secured, for example by avoiding sending UDP packets over untrusted networks.

Additionally, configure the middleware to log an HMAC signature of the IP address instead of the plaintext IP address to prevent sensitive information leakage.

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Compliance Impact

The vulnerability involves the leakage of users' IP addresses when the communication channel to the statsd daemon is unsecured, which constitutes the cleartext transmission of sensitive information (CWE-319).

Such leakage of personal data like IP addresses could potentially impact compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA, which require the protection of personally identifiable information and secure transmission of sensitive data.

However, starting from version 0.9.0, the IP address is no longer logged unless explicitly configured, and when configured, an HMAC signature is used instead of the plaintext IP address, mitigating the risk of exposure.

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