oss-security - CVE-2026-95831: Crypt::SelfCertificate versions from 1.01 through 1.05 for Perl contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated URL

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Message-ID: <3431a851-5c3a-4837-b498-eb725755de91@cpansec.org>
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2026 19:22:50 +0100
From: Robert Rothenberg <rrwo@...nsec.org>
To: cve-announce@...urity.metacpan.org, oss-security@...ts.openwall.com
Subject: CVE-2026-95831: Crypt::SelfCertificate versions from 1.01 through
 1.05 for Perl contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated
 URL

========================================================================
CVE-2026-95831                                       CPAN Security Group
========================================================================

         CVE ID:  CVE-2026-95831

   Distribution:  Crypt-SelfCertificate
       Versions:  from 1.01 through 1.05
       MetaCPAN:  https://metacpan.org/dist/Crypt-SelfCertificate


Crypt::SelfCertificate versions from 1.01 through 1.05 for Perl
contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated URL

Description
-----------
Crypt::SelfCertificate versions from 1.01 through 1.05 for Perl
contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated URL.

The generate_certificate runs a Python script saved as a certificate
file.  The pyhton script attempts to retrieve code from a hardcoded
http URL that is obfuscated with base64 encoding and run the response
body directly.

The impact is that arbitrary code can be invoked as the user, without a
dropped script being saved on the affected host.

The releases have no test scripts nor build hooks.  The intention may
have been to trigger the payload after installation.

For version 1.01, the dropper script is in
lib/Crypt/SelfCertificate/sample/validate.p12.

For version 1.05, the dropper script is in
lib/Crypt/SelfCertificate/sample/cert7.pem.

The SHA-256 digests of the files are

fbff21f45ff748365062a5e36fb2d72558cad82a507a6f357f320b4fcdf07760 
Crypt-SelfCertificate-1.01.tar.gz
27b2d2d3174ad771474fff2521f5084ec231e9218ea8c832515aef1cbd5897bc 
lib/Crypt/SelfCertificate/sample/validate.p12

9fdfa7d69b034b77d4510cda567e8da1e486ca81c7daaadc5732a45c41d71991 
Crypt-SelfCertificate-1.05.tar.gz
27b2d2d3174ad771474fff2521f5084ec231e9218ea8c832515aef1cbd5897bc 
lib/Crypt/SelfCertificate/sample/cert7.pem

Problem types
-------------
- CWE-506 Embedded Malicious Code

Impacts
-------
- CAPEC-253 Remote Code Inclusion

Solutions
---------
Systems on which the affected package was installed should be
considered potentially compromised and investigated accordingly.

References
----------
https://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.cpan.testers.discuss/2026/09/msg4754.html

Timeline
--------
- 2026-09-15: Crypt::SelfCertificate version 1.00 uploaded to CPAN
- 2026-09-17: Crypt::SelfCertificate version 1.01 uploaded to CPAN
- 2026-09-22: Crypt::SelfCertificate version 1.05 uploaded to CPAN
- 2026-09-22: Malware identified by CPANSec scanning

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