Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach Secret Server crypto endpoint unauthenticated
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DeliverySubmit manipulated ciphertext blocks
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ExploitObserve padding-validation oracle responses
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ExecutionIteratively decrypt or forge data with server key
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ImpactDisclose protected secrets / forge trusted data
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A04:2025 - Cryptographic Failures
ASVS 5.0
V11 - Cryptography Approved algorithm selection
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires network reachability to an on-prem Delinea Secret Server (versions 10.5.1 through 12.1.3) exposing a cryptographic operation that leaks padding-validation state; per CVSS PR:N/UI:N no authentication or user interaction is needed. Limiting factors are significant: the attack is a complex adaptive chosen-ciphertext (padding oracle) technique (AC:H) with an attack requirement (AT:P), meaning it needs many crafted requests, observable distinguishable responses, and the specific vulnerable oracle behavior - it is not a single-request exploit. It applies only to the on-prem product line, not necessarily cloud-hosted deployments, and does not itself expose the cryptographic key. |
| Impact | The vendor CVSS 4.0 base score is 9.1 (Critical), driven largely by high subsequent-system impact (SC:H/SI:H/SA:H) - reflecting that a padding oracle lets an attacker abuse the server's own cryptographic key to decrypt or forge data protected across the system, not just the vulnerable endpoint. However, the base vector itself tempers this: AV:N but AC:H and AT:P mean the attack is a complex, adaptive chosen-ciphertext attack requiring specific conditions and many probing requests, not a trivial one-shot exploit. PR:N/UI:N confirms it is reachable by an unauthenticated user who can reach Secret Server. Real-world urgency signals are LOW and consistent with each other: EPSS is only 0.20% (10th percentile), there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC was identified - so this is currently a high-severity-by-design cryptographic flaw rather than a demonstrably weaponized one. Note the input CWE-327 (broken/risky crypto algorithm) is the correct root-cause class for a padding oracle (arguably CWE-347/CWE-208 could also apply). No conflicting signals on attack vector - CVSS network vector aligns with the description's 'access to Secret Server.' Net: patch on a prioritized-but-not-emergency basis given the sensitivity of a secrets vault, tempered by high attack complexity and absence of exploitation evidence. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An unauthenticated attacker who can reach an on-prem Secret Server instance (10.5.1 through 12.1.3) sends a stream of manipulated ciphertexts to a cryptographic endpoint and observes padding-validation responses, using the differences as an oracle to decrypt protected data or to encrypt/forge data with the server's key without ever extracting the key itself. Because the attack is an adaptive chosen-ciphertext technique, it requires many requests and specific conditions (reflected in AC:H/AT:P). No public exploit code was identified at the time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 17, 2026
A padding oracle in on-premises Delinea Secret Server (versions 10.5.1 through 12.1.3) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to decrypt or forge data protected with one of the server's own cryptographic keys, although the key material itself is never exposed. Exploitation is not trivial: it is an adaptive chosen-ciphertext attack that requires many crafted requests and a distinguishable padding-validation response from an exposed cryptographic operation, which is why the vendor scores it 9.1 Critical (CVSS 4.0) while the assessed vector (CVSS 3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N) reflects high complexity and only partial integrity loss on the vulnerable component. EPSS is low at 0.20% (10th percentile), there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis; the elevated overall severity comes from the key's role protecting data across subsequent systems (SC:H/SI:H/SA:H), not from a single-request or trivially reproducible attack.
RemediationAI
Patch status for CVE-2026-15638 could not be confirmed from the available input - no fix version, GitHub PR/commit, or patch statement was provided - so the first action is to check the vendor advisory at https://delinea.com/security-advisories (and the NVD entry https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-15638) for a fixed Secret Server (On-Prem) release and upgrade out of the 10.5.1-12.1.3 range as soon as one is published; do not assume a cloud-hosted instance is covered by the on-prem fix without vendor confirmation. Until a patch is applied, treat this as an oracle-exposure problem and reduce reachability: restrict network access to the Secret Server web/REST interface and any cryptographic endpoints to trusted management networks or VPN, accepting the operational cost that legitimate remote and distributed users lose direct access; block or rate-limit the affected endpoints at a reverse proxy or WAF and normalize error responses (uniform status codes and messages, constant-time handling) to remove the padding-validation signal, with the trade-off that over-aggressive request throttling may affect legitimate bulk API clients; and enable verbose logging/alerting on anomalous volumes of malformed or repeated requests to crypto operations so that adaptive probing is detected early. Because the abused key is not exposed, key rotation alone is not a substitute for patching and could disrupt dependent integrations if the oracle remains reachable; scope any rotation to affected integrations after remediation, and prioritize internet-exposed on-prem instances for the network restrictions given the unauthenticated (PR:N) and no-interaction (UI:N) prerequisites.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The issue is classified as CWE-327 (Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm) and is delivered as a classic padding oracle against a CBC-style construction in which the application leaks distinguishable state about whether decrypted padding validated. An attacker who can reach the affected cryptographic operation sends large numbers of modified ciphertexts, observes the server's response differences (error codes, messages, timing, or status changes), and uses those one-bit signals to recover plaintext or to build a valid forgery using the server's own key - the key is abused as an oracle primitive rather than extracted. The EUVD entry (EUVD-2026-80067) and tags ('Information Disclosure', 'Oracle') match this reading. Two environmental factors gate real-world impact: the deployment must be the on-premises product line (Secret Server (On-Prem) 10.5.1 ≤ 12.1.3), and the vulnerable cryptographic operation must be network-reachable; the CVSS 4.0 vector's AT:P (attack requirements present) and AC:H encode exactly that dependency. Note that the assessed 3.1 vector (S:C) captures the scope change implied by reusing a key that protects data beyond the vulnerable endpoint, but confidentiality/integrity impact on the component itself is bounded (I:L) since the attack yields decryption or forgery of specific data rather than a full compromise of the key store.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
Unauthenticated network-reachable padding oracle (PR:N/AV:N) but adaptive chosen-ciphertext makes it AC:H; decrypting secrets is C:H, forging/encrypting is I:L, and abuse of the server key affects data beyond the component so S:C; no availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (1443cd92-d354-46d2-9290-d812316ca43a).
CVSS VectorVendor: 1443cd92-d354-46d2-9290-d812316ca43a
DescriptionCVE.org
An unauthenticated user with access to Secret Server could leverage a padding oracle to decrypt or encrypt data using one of the server's cryptographic keys. The key itself is not exposed.
Executive ViewAI
Delinea Secret Server on-premises deployments (versions 10.5.1 through 12.1.3) contain a critical cryptographic padding oracle flaw that could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to decrypt or forge data protected by the server's own keys, though the keys themselves remain secure. Although exploitation requires significant effort and no public exploit is known, a successful attack could undermine the confidentiality of secrets managed by the platform, potentially exposing credentials used across the enterprise and enabling lateral movement. Leadership should prioritize immediate risk mitigation and vendor engagement because Secret Server often serves as a trust anchor for privileged access management.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations include restricting network access to Secret Server management interfaces, enforcing strict network segmentation, deploying WAF rules to detect and block padding oracle attack patterns (e.g., high volumes of malformed ciphertext requests), rate-limiting requests to exposed cryptographic endpoints, monitoring logs for repeated padding validation errors, and preparing for key rotation once a patch is available.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
Related Vulnerabilities in Secret Server Cryptographic and Authentication Flaws
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Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the basic dashboard in Thycotic Secret Server 8.6.x, 8.7.x, and 8.8.x before
Insufficient verification of data authenticity vulnerability in Delinea Secret Server, in its v10.9.000002 version. Rate
In Delinea PAM Secret Server 11.4, it is possible for an attacker (with Administrator access to the Secret Server machin
Improper Authentication vulnerability in Delinea Inc. Secret Server On-Prem (RPC Password Rotation modules).This issue a
A SQL injection issue was discovered in ThycoticCentrify Secret Server before 11.0.000007. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6
An XSS issue was discovered in Thycotic Secret Server before 10.7 (issue 2 of 2). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this
EUVD-2026-80067
GHSA-grw7-x4gw-45r5
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB