Track vulnerabilities like this one. Sign up free to get alerted when software you use is affected.
9.8

CVE-2026-97230: IO::Socket::SSL::SelfCertificate 1.00 runs hidden Python code

CVE-2026-97230 · published 24 days ago
Summary

The Perl module IO::Socket::SSL::SelfCertificate version 1.00 contains a hidden script that downloads and runs Python code from an external web address when it is installed. This allows anyone who can run the module to execute arbitrary commands on the same machine as the installing user. Remove the module or replace it with a clean version immediately and avoid installing packages from untrusted sources.

Original advisory text
IO::Socket::SSL::SelfCertificate versions 1.00 for Perl contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated URL
IO::Socket::SSL::SelfCertificate versions 1.00 for Perl contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated URL.

The generate_certificate runs a Python script saved as a certificate file. The pyhton script attempts to retrieve code from a hardcoded http URL that is obfuscated with base64 encoding and run the response body directly.

The impact is that arbitrary code can be invoked as the user, without a dropped script being saved on the affected host.

The releases have no test scripts nor build hooks. The intention may have been to trigger the payload after installation.

The dropper script is in lib/Crypt/SelfCertificate/sample/cert.pem.

This is similar to CVE-2026-95831 for the module Crypt::SelfCertificate.

The SHA-256 digests of the files are

ba24ee8ec3b7f47f65bed62e16fb413ace50653cf44bd8ea90914390922831e0 IO-Socket-SSL-SelfCertificate-1.00.tar.gz
821d38830e5eb8607738421c25ac25f59fff02a6ab67daa32fbd020429454dac IO-Socket-SSL-SelfCertificate-1.00/lib/IO/Socket/SSL/SelfCertificate/sample/cert.pem

d483cb7b23b7271cb11cf242bff4a2e1c02df0b9525eb0429abeea8961c399d5 IO-Socket-SSL-SelfCertificate-1.00-upload.tar.gz
Fix within
Internet-facing 3 days
Internal 60 days
  • Not known to be exploited
  • Can be exploited automatically
  • Gives an attacker full control
Severity
9.8 Critical
Exploitation
<1% chance of attack within 30 days
Type
CWE-506Embedded Malicious Code
Timeline
Published24 Sep 2026
Updated19 Oct 2026
First seen24 Sep 2026
Sources
CVE-2026-97230 · MITRE
Track software like this
Free during beta