Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-78619

Auth Bypass

Published
25 August 2026
Modified
26 August 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0062 48th percentile
Risk Priority 72 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-78619 is a critical-severity Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness (CWE-305) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 48th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) and IA-8 (Identification and Authentication (Non-organizational Users)) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Punk::Plugin::TOTP versions before 0.05 for Perl accept another account's recovery code at the two-factor challenge because totp_use_recovery compares user identifiers numerically. The helper searches the recovery model for the submitted code's digest alone, across every user's rows, so the ownership…

more

test that follows is the only thing binding a code to the account it was issued to. That test compares the row's user_id with the challenged user's id through Perl's integer coercion, and an identifier with no leading digits coerces to zero, so any two of them compare equal. User models keyed on a username, an email address or a UUID hit that case, and a numeric key compares as intended. The challenge route feeds a submitted value to the helper once TOTP verification fails, so an attacker who knows a victim's password and holds a recovery code of their own passes the victim's second factor.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-52996Shared CWE-305
CVE-2024-10394Shared CWE-305
CVE-2025-54622Shared CWE-305
CVE-2025-32011Shared CWE-305
CVE-2025-31161Shared CWE-305
CVE-2026-1965Shared CWE-305
CVE-2026-41052Shared CWE-305
CVE-2025-59941Shared CWE-305
CVE-2024-42513Shared CWE-305
CVE-2025-46801Shared CWE-305

Affected Assets

—
TOTP
inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V6.4.3
  • V7.2.4

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Requires unique identification and authentication of users, structurally blocking bypass of the mechanism.

Requires unique identification and authentication of non-organizational users, blocking bypass paths.

Developer testing and evaluation can discover incorrect comparison logic after implementation but does not stop the flaw from being written.

Enforces approved authorizations so a bypass weakness cannot be exploited to reach resources.

Requiring a documented development process and tools can embed standards that reduce introduction of erroneous comparison factors.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Identifying and recording vulnerabilities catches the primary weaknesses that allow authentication bypass.

PR.AA-03 partial match
prevents

Strong authentication mechanisms and policy enforcement directly reduce bypass opportunities arising from implementation flaws.

PR.PS-06 partial match
prevents

Secure development practices throughout the SDLC prevent the primary weaknesses that enable authentication bypass.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle reduces likelihood of introducing bypass flaws during implementation.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify correct comparison criteria and validation rules.

prevents

Secure coding practices help prevent the primary weakness that enables authentication bypass.

finds

Security testing can detect authentication bypass conditions before deployment.

mitigates

Information access restriction complements authentication by limiting what can be reached even if bypass occurs.

prevents

Secure authentication mechanisms directly address bypass risks in the implemented authentication process.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
  • V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-305
Ubuntu 24.04 (1 rule)
  • V-270675 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS when booted must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-305

References