# CVE-2026-90457: Weak cryptography in Malcolm

> Weak password hashing and insecure file permissions allow local attackers to recover administrative credentials via offline computation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 2 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r5jf-jfmr-83g3

## What is CVE-2026-90457?

CVE-2026-90457 is a medium-severity vulnerability in CISA Malcolm, published on 11 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The administrative password is hashed using a comparatively weak, fast algorithm for the credential store backing one authentication path, and the file containing that hash is written with permissions allowing it to be read by any local user. This is inconsistent with a separate, stronger hashing algorithm used for the same password on another authentication path. A party able to read this file, including a local user or a party with access to a configuration backup, could feasibly recover the underlying password through offline computation, compromising the administrative credential across every path that accepts it.

Weakness: CWE-916 (Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90457?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-90457?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-90457 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-90457 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90457 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-90457 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-90457 is a medium-severity vulnerability in CISA Malcolm, published on 11 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90457 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: CISA Malcolm. 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-2026-90457/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90457/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90457
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90457
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-90457

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90457/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.