Vulnerability-Lookup

FKIE_CVE-2026-25998

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-02-19 17:24 - Updated: 2026-02-23 19:36

Severity ?

7.5 (High) - CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Summary

strongMan is a management interface for strongSwan, an OpenSource IPsec-based VPN. When storing credentials in the database (private keys, EAP secrets), strongMan encrypts the corresponding database fields. So far it used AES in CTR mode with a global database key. Together with an initialization vector (IV), a key stream is generated to encrypt the data in the database fields. But because strongMan did not generate individual IVs, every database field was encrypted using the same key stream. An attacker that has access to the database can use this to recover the encrypted credentials. In particular, because certificates, which have to be considered public information, are also encrypted using the same mechanism, an attacker can directly recover a large chunk of the key stream, which allows them to decrypt basically all other secrets especially ECDSA private keys and EAP secrets, which are usually a lot shorter. Version 0.2.0 fixes the issue by switching to AES-GCM-SIV encryption with a random nonce and an individually derived encryption key, using HKDF, for each encrypted value. Database migrations are provided to automatically re-encrypt all credentials.

References

	URL	Tags
	security-advisories@github.com	https://github.com/strongswan/strongMan/security/advisories/GHSA-88w4-jv97-c8xr	Vendor Advisory

Impacted products

	Vendor	Product	Version
	strongswan	strongman	0.1.0

JSON

To clipboard

{
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:strongswan:strongman:0.1.0:*:*:*:*:python:*:*",
              "matchCriteriaId": "92188FAE-6D6C-483E-B5BD-4E0EE4743F6F",
              "vulnerable": true
            }
          ],
          "negate": false,
          "operator": "OR"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "strongMan is a management interface for strongSwan, an OpenSource IPsec-based VPN. When storing credentials in the database (private keys, EAP secrets), strongMan encrypts the corresponding database fields. So far it used AES in CTR mode with a global database key. Together with an initialization vector (IV), a key stream is generated to encrypt the data in the database fields. But because strongMan did not generate individual IVs, every database field was encrypted using the same key stream. An attacker that has access to the database can use this to recover the encrypted credentials. In particular, because certificates, which have to be considered public information, are also encrypted using the same mechanism, an attacker can directly recover a large chunk of the key stream, which allows them to decrypt basically all other secrets especially ECDSA private keys and EAP secrets, which are usually a lot shorter. Version 0.2.0 fixes the issue by switching to AES-GCM-SIV encryption with a random nonce and an individually derived encryption key, using HKDF, for each encrypted value. Database migrations are provided to automatically re-encrypt all credentials."
    },
    {
      "lang": "es",
      "value": "strongMan es una interfaz de gesti\u00f3n para strongSwan, una VPN de c\u00f3digo abierto basada en IPsec. Al almacenar credenciales en la base de datos (claves privadas, secretos EAP), strongMan cifra los campos de la base de datos correspondientes. Hasta ahora utilizaba AES en modo CTR con una clave de base de datos global. Junto con un vector de inicializaci\u00f3n (IV), se genera un flujo de claves para cifrar los datos en los campos de la base de datos. Pero debido a que strongMan no generaba IVs individuales, cada campo de la base de datos fue cifrado utilizando el mismo flujo de claves. Un atacante que tiene acceso a la base de datos puede usar esto para recuperar las credenciales cifradas. En particular, debido a que los certificados, que deben considerarse informaci\u00f3n p\u00fablica, tambi\u00e9n son cifrados utilizando el mismo mecanismo, un atacante puede recuperar directamente una gran parte del flujo de claves, lo que les permite descifrar b\u00e1sicamente todos los dem\u00e1s secretos, especialmente las claves privadas ECDSA y los secretos EAP, que suelen ser mucho m\u00e1s cortos. La versi\u00f3n 0.2.0 soluciona el problema al cambiar al cifrado AES-GCM-SIV con un nonce aleatorio y una clave de cifrado derivada individualmente, utilizando HKDF, para cada valor cifrado. Se proporcionan migraciones de base de datos para volver a cifrar autom\u00e1ticamente todas las credenciales."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2026-25998",
  "lastModified": "2026-02-23T19:36:48.017",
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "availabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "baseScore": 7.5,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
          "version": "3.1"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9,
        "impactScore": 3.6,
        "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
        "type": "Primary"
      }
    ],
    "cvssMetricV40": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackRequirements": "NONE",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "availabilityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "baseScore": 8.7,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "confidentialityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "integrityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackComplexity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackRequirements": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackVector": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedPrivilegesRequired": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedUserInteraction": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
          "version": "4.0",
          "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
          "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
        },
        "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
        "type": "Secondary"
      }
    ]
  },
  "published": "2026-02-19T17:24:50.127",
  "references": [
    {
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "tags": [
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "url": "https://github.com/strongswan/strongMan/security/advisories/GHSA-88w4-jv97-c8xr"
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "security-advisories@github.com",
  "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-323"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-1204"
        }
      ],
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "type": "Primary"
    }
  ]
}

CVE-2026-25998 (GCVE-0-2026-25998)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-02-19 15:51 – Updated: 2026-02-20 15:42

Title

strongMan vulnerable to private credential recovery due to key and counter reuse

Summary

Severity ?

8.7 (High)


                        
                          CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CWE

CWE-323 - Reusing a Nonce, Key Pair in Encryption
CWE-1204 - Generation of Weak Initialization Vector (IV)

Assigner

GitHub_M

References

URL

Tags

https://github.com/strongswan/strongMan/security/…

x_refsource_CONFIRM

Impacted products

	Vendor	Product	Version
	strongswan	strongMan	Affected: < 0.2.0

Show details on NVD website

JSON

To clipboard

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-25998",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "yes"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "partial"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-02-20T15:32:21.931190Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-02-20T15:42:52.654Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "product": "strongMan",
          "vendor": "strongswan",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "\u003c 0.2.0"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "strongMan is a management interface for strongSwan, an OpenSource IPsec-based VPN. When storing credentials in the database (private keys, EAP secrets), strongMan encrypts the corresponding database fields. So far it used AES in CTR mode with a global database key. Together with an initialization vector (IV), a key stream is generated to encrypt the data in the database fields. But because strongMan did not generate individual IVs, every database field was encrypted using the same key stream. An attacker that has access to the database can use this to recover the encrypted credentials. In particular, because certificates, which have to be considered public information, are also encrypted using the same mechanism, an attacker can directly recover a large chunk of the key stream, which allows them to decrypt basically all other secrets especially ECDSA private keys and EAP secrets, which are usually a lot shorter. Version 0.2.0 fixes the issue by switching to AES-GCM-SIV encryption with a random nonce and an individually derived encryption key, using HKDF, for each encrypted value. Database migrations are provided to automatically re-encrypt all credentials."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV4_0": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackRequirements": "NONE",
            "attackVector": "NETWORK",
            "baseScore": 8.7,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
            "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
            "userInteraction": "NONE",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
            "version": "4.0",
            "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
            "vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE"
          }
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-323",
              "description": "CWE-323: Reusing a Nonce, Key Pair in Encryption",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-1204",
              "description": "CWE-1204: Generation of Weak Initialization Vector (IV)",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-02-19T15:53:30.113Z",
        "orgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
        "shortName": "GitHub_M"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/strongswan/strongMan/security/advisories/GHSA-88w4-jv97-c8xr",
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_CONFIRM"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/strongswan/strongMan/security/advisories/GHSA-88w4-jv97-c8xr"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "advisory": "GHSA-88w4-jv97-c8xr",
        "discovery": "UNKNOWN"
      },
      "title": "strongMan vulnerable to private credential recovery due to key and counter reuse"
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
    "assignerShortName": "GitHub_M",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-25998",
    "datePublished": "2026-02-19T15:51:35.349Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-02-09T17:41:55.859Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-02-20T15:42:52.654Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

Action not permitted

FKIE_CVE-2026-25998

CVE-2026-25998 (GCVE-0-2026-25998)

Tags

Sightings

Nomenclature