Plack::Middleware::Session::Simple versions through 0.04 for Perl generates session ids insecurely.
The default session id generator returns a SHA-1 hash seeded with the built-in rand function, the epoch time, and the PID. The PID will come from a small set of numbers, and the epoch time may be guessed, if it is not leaked from the HTTP Date header. The built-in rand function is unsuitable for cryptographic usage.
Predicable session ids could allow an attacker to gain access to systems.
Plack::Middleware::Session::Simple is intended to be compatible with Plack::Middleware::Session, which had a similar security issue CVE-2025-40923.
Weakness
The product uses a Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) in a security context, but the PRNG’s algorithm is not cryptographically strong.
Extended Description
When a non-cryptographic PRNG is used in a cryptographic context, it can expose the cryptography to certain types of attacks. Often a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) is not designed for cryptography. Sometimes a mediocre source of randomness is sufficient or preferable for algorithms that use random numbers. Weak generators generally take less processing power and/or do not use the precious, finite, entropy sources on a system. While such PRNGs might have very useful features, these same features could be used to break the cryptography.
Potential Mitigations
References
- https://github.com/kazeburo/Plack-Middleware-Session-Simple/commit/760bb358b8f53e52cf415888a4ac858fd99bb24e.patch
- https://github.com/kazeburo/Plack-Middleware-Session-Simple/pull/4
- https://metacpan.org/release/KAZEBURO/Plack-Middleware-Session-Simple-0.04/source/lib/Plack/Middleware/Session/Simple.pm#L43
- https://security.metacpan.org/docs/guides/random-data-for-security.html
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-40923