Summary
Workaround
The likelihood of this attack actually working is highly dependent on the network's latency, noise and similar parameters. An actual proof of concept was not achieved so far. Still, as always administrators are advised to not expose their OctoPrint instance on hostile networks, especially not on the public Internet!
Credits
This vulnerability was discovered and responsibly disclosed to OctoPrint by Knox Liu.
Impact
OctoPrint versions up to and including 1.11.5 are affected by a (theoretical) timing attack vulnerability that allows API key extraction over the network.
Due to using character based comparison that short-circuits on the first mismatched character during API key validation, rather than a cryptographical method with static runtime regardless of the point of mismatch, an attacker with network based access to an affected OctoPrint could extract API keys valid on the instance by measuring the response times of the denied access responses and guess an API key character by character.
CVE-2026-23892 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.11.6); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
The vulnerability will be patched in version 1.11.6.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-23892? CVE-2026-23892 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in OctoPrint (pip), affecting versions < 1.11.6. It is fixed in 1.11.6.
- How severe is CVE-2026-23892? CVE-2026-23892 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of OctoPrint are affected by CVE-2026-23892? OctoPrint (pip) versions < 1.11.6 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-23892? Yes. CVE-2026-23892 is fixed in 1.11.6. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-23892 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-23892 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-23892 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-23892? Upgrade
OctoPrintto 1.11.6 or later.