A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-18536 affects Perl Data::Entropy versions before 0.010, where the module fetched entropy from remote services over plain HTTP and relied on an integrity check in Data::Entropy::RawSource::RandomOrg that could be trivially bypassed. An on-path attacker could tamper with the returned random bytes and influence retry behavior, undermining any security-sensitive use of that output. The affected remote sources are Data::Entropy::RawSource::RandomOrg and Data::Entropy::RawSource::RandomnumbersInfo.
The vulnerable remote sources were removed in Data::Entropy 0.010 after an unsuccessful HTTPS-related change in version 0.009, and the package had already been deprecated since version 0.008. CPAN security guidance recommends using system-backed randomness instead of remote entropy services, and users are advised to migrate to alternative modules that rely on local operating-system random sources for cryptographic or other security-relevant operations.

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On 2026-08-01, Robert Rothenberg posted a CPAN Security Group notice to oss-sec for CVE-2026-18536, disclosing that Data::Entropy versions before 0.010 read remote entropy sources over plain HTTP and had a bypassable integrity check in the RandomOrg source.
The vulnerable RandomOrg and RandomnumbersInfo remote sources were removed in Data::Entropy 0.010, eliminating the plain-HTTP entropy retrieval path described in the advisory.
According to the advisory, Data::Entropy version 0.009 included an attempt to use HTTPS for the affected remote entropy sources, but the change was unsuccessful.
The CPAN Security Group advisory states that Data::Entropy has been deprecated since version 0.008, marking an earlier project decision to steer users away from the module.
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