# CVE-2013-4441: Weak cryptography in Pwgen

> Pwgen's Phonemes mode generates predictable passwords, allowing attackers to easily guess them via brute-force attacks.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Jan 2020
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-4441, ECHO-12e4-cc24-cb8a, GHSA-gf35-787v-rv28

## What is CVE-2013-4441?

CVE-2013-4441 is a critical vulnerability in Pwgen, published on 27 Jan 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Phonemes mode in Pwgen 2.06 generates predictable passwords, which makes it easier for context-dependent attackers to guess the password via a brute-force attack.

Weakness: CWE-307 (Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4441?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pwgen Project Pwgen.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-4441?

No fix has been published for CVE-2013-4441 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2013-4441 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-4441 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Pwgen

- [CVE-2013-4440](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4440/): Weak cryptography in n/a (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2013-4442](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4442/): Weak cryptography in n/a (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4441 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-4441 is a critical vulnerability in Pwgen, published on 27 Jan 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-4441 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Pwgen. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4441/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4441/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4441
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4441
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4441

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4441/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.