SOC status:Duty analyst on shift

UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityAnalyzed

CVE-2026-18092

Net::SAML2 versions before 0.86 for Perl allow SAML authentication bypass via XML signature wrapping because new_from_xml reads assertion identity with document-wide XPath instead of the signed subtree. new_from_xml reads the NameID, attribute values,…

HIGH 8.1EPSS 0.20%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.20%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

Net::SAML2 versions before 0.86 for Perl allow SAML authentication bypass via XML signature wrapping because new_from_xml reads assertion identity with document-wide XPath instead of the signed subtree. new_from_xml reads the NameID, attribute values, SessionIndex, audience and other identity fields with document-wide XPath, such as //saml:Assertion/saml:AttributeStatement/saml:Attribute and //saml:Subject/saml:NameID, which select the first matching element in document order rather than the element covered by the verified signature. handle_response confirms that a signature is present and, when a cacert is configured, that it chains to the CA, but XML::Sig verifies only the element named by the signature's Reference URI, so unsigned sibling assertions in the same document are not covered. An attacker who holds any one IdP-signed assertion can add an unsigned attacker-authored assertion earlier in document order; the signature still verifies and the document-order XPath returns the attacker's NameID and attributes. Any caller that passes an untrusted Response to new_from_xml can accept identity fields from an assertion the IdP never signed, even when a cacert trust anchor is configured, so a party holding one valid IdP-signed assertion can authenticate as an arbitrary user.

CVSS 3.1
8.1 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
EPSS
0.20% probability · 9th percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-347
Affected
timlegge/net\
Source
9b29abf9-4ab0-4765-b253-1875cd9b441e

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.