CVE-2026-88837 Busybox: busybox: httpd misidentifies yescrypt password hashes as plaintext, inverting authentication
BusyBox httpd incorrectly treats yescrypt password hashes as plaintext, allowing attackers to bypass Basic Authentication.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-88837?
CVE-2026-88837 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Red Hat Hardened Images, published on 23 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
BusyBox httpd treats yescrypt ($y$) password hashes as plaintext during Basic Authentication, inverting the authentication check.
Weakness: CWE-305
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-88837?
How do I fix CVE-2026-88837?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2026-88837 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-88837 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-88837, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-88837, ECHO-f105-a15f-8af6, GHSA-f9qv-fq2p-pvch, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-88837.