What is CVE-2026-54548?

CVE-2026-54548 is a low-severity security vulnerability in kas (pip), affecting versions <= 5.3. It is fixed in 5.4.

How severe is CVE-2026-54548?

CVE-2026-54548 has a CVSS score of 3.3 (Low). 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 kas are affected by CVE-2026-54548?

kas (pip) versions <= 5.3 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-54548?

Yes. CVE-2026-54548 is fixed in 5.4. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2026-54548 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2026-54548 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2026-54548 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.

CVE-2026-54548 in kas

Q: How severe is CVE-2026-54548?

CVE-2026-54548 has a CVSS score of 3.3 (Low). 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.

Q: Which versions of kas are affected by CVE-2026-54548?

kas (pip) versions <= 5.3 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2026-54548?

Yes. CVE-2026-54548 is fixed in 5.4. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2026-54548 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2026-54548 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2026-54548 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.

Summary

kas Persistently Disables SSH Host Key Checking

kas persistently disables SSH host key checking for the invoking user when internal SSH key setup is triggered via SSH_PRIVATE_KEY or SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE and no user-specific SSH configuration file exists so far.

When this path is used, kas creates ~/.ssh/config with a global Host * rule containing StrictHostKeyChecking no. This was intended to ease the use of kas in short-lived CI environments that lack a pre-configured set of known hosts. In case a local user had no SSH configuration file so far, this approach weakens SSH host authenticity verification beyond the lifetime and scope of the kas command, increasing the risk of successful man-in-the-middle attacks against future SSH connections made by the same user.

Workarounds

Since kas 2.6.3, a local user's SSH configuration is only written if it didn't exist before. From that version on, the issue can be avoided by creating an own ~/.ssh/config prior to calling kas. If kas was already called, ~/.ssh/config should be inspected and undesired settings created by kas should be removed.

Impact

CVE-2026-54548 has a CVSS score of 3.3 (Low). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (5.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

kas (<= 5.3)

Security releases

kas → 5.4 (pip)

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.

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Remediation advice

Such SSH configurations were created since the very first public release. The issue is addressed now by commit which is part of kas version 5.4.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-54548? CVE-2026-54548 is a low-severity security vulnerability in kas (pip), affecting versions <= 5.3. It is fixed in 5.4.
How severe is CVE-2026-54548? CVE-2026-54548 has a CVSS score of 3.3 (Low). 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 kas are affected by CVE-2026-54548? kas (pip) versions <= 5.3 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-54548? Yes. CVE-2026-54548 is fixed in 5.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2026-54548 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-54548 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-2026-54548 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-2026-54548? Upgrade kas to 5.4 or later.