CVE-2026-25235
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in PEAR (PHP Extension and Application Repository) allows attackers to guess verification tokens due to predictable hashes, potentially enabling unauthorized verification of election account requests. It affects PEAR installations before version 1.33.0. The issue impacts systems using PEAR's verification functionality.
💻 Affected Systems
- PEAR (PHP Extension and Application Repository)
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could verify unauthorized election account requests, potentially gaining administrative access to PEAR systems or manipulating package distribution.
Likely Case
Unauthorized verification of user accounts or requests, leading to privilege escalation or account takeover in PEAR-managed systems.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper access controls and monitoring, though verification bypass remains possible.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires understanding of PEAR's verification system but uses predictable hash patterns.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.33.0
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/pear/pearweb/security/advisories/GHSA-477r-4cmw-3cgf
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update PEAR to version 1.33.0 or later using: pear upgrade pear
2. Verify update with: pear version
3. Clear any cached verification tokens or sessions.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable verification endpoints
allTemporarily disable election account verification functionality until patching
# Modify PEAR configuration to disable verification endpoints
# Location varies by installation
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement rate limiting on verification endpoints to prevent brute-force attacks
- Add additional authentication factors for verification processes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check PEAR version with: pear version | grep -i pearCheck Version:
pear versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 1.33.0 or higher with: pear version📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed verification attempts from single IP
- Successful verifications without proper authentication flow
Network Indicators:
- Unusual patterns of requests to verification endpoints
- Requests with predictable token patterns
SIEM Query:
source="pear_logs" AND (verification_failure > 10 OR verification_success WITHOUT auth_flow)