CVE-2026-90457

Received Received - Intake

Weak Password Hashing in Administrative Credential Store

Publication date: 2026-09-11

Last updated on: 2026-09-11

Assigner: ICS-CERT

Description

The administrative password is hashed using a comparatively weak, fast algorithm for the credential store backing one authentication path, and the file containing that hash is written with permissions allowing it to be read by any local user. This is inconsistent with a separate, stronger hashing algorithm used for the same password on another authentication path. A party able to read this file, including a local user or a party with access to a configuration backup, could feasibly recover the underlying password through offline computation, compromising the administrative credential across every path that accepts it.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-09-11

Last Modified

2026-09-11

Generated

2026-09-12

AI Q&A

2026-09-12

EPSS Evaluated

N/A

NVD

CVE-2026-90457

Affected Vendors & Products

Currently, no data is known.

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-916	The product generates a hash for a password, but it uses a scheme that does not provide a sufficient level of computational effort that would make password cracking attacks infeasible or expensive.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability involves an administrative password being stored with weak hashing in one authentication path, while a stronger algorithm is used elsewhere. The file containing the weak hash is readable by any local user, allowing them to recover the password through offline attacks and compromise the credential across all authentication paths.

Detection Guidance

Check for files containing administrative password hashes with weak permissions. Look for files readable by any local user that store hashes using fast algorithms like MD5 or SHA-1. Use commands like 'find / -type f -perm -o=r 2>/dev/null' to locate world-readable files and 'ls -la' to verify permissions. Inspect hash formats in configuration files or credential stores.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with local access or access to a configuration backup could recover the administrative password. This could lead to unauthorized administrative access, allowing the attacker to perform privileged actions, modify system configurations, or access sensitive data.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could violate compliance requirements that mandate strong authentication and protection of administrative credentials, such as GDPR's security principles or HIPAA's access control rules. Failure to protect credentials may result in non-compliance and potential legal or regulatory penalties.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediately restrict file permissions on any identified hash files to owner-only access using 'chmod 600 filename'. Rehash the administrative password using a strong algorithm like bcrypt or Argon2. Ensure all authentication paths use the same secure hashing method. Monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

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