# CVE-2026-44061: DES-ECB auth with timing side channel

> Remote attackers can recover authentication credentials via timing analysis due to DES-ECB usage in Netatalk, leading to account takeover.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 May 2026
- **Updated:** 21 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-44061, GHSA-9jg7-fcmv-j845, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-44061

## What is CVE-2026-44061?

CVE-2026-44061 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Netatalk, published on 21 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Netatalk 1.5.0 through 4.4.2 uses DES-ECB for authentication with a timing side channel, which allows a remote attacker to recover authentication credentials via timing analysis.

Weakness: CWE-208 (Observable Timing Discrepancy)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44061?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-44061?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-44061 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44061 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-44061 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-44061 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Netatalk, published on 21 May 2026. 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-2026-44061 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Netatalk. 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-2026-44061/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44061/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44061
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44061
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44061

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44061/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.