Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key in ZoneMinder - #VU153358
Published: October 6, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU153358
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4: 9.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: N/A
CWE-ID: CWE-321
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to bypass authentication and gain administrator access.
The vulnerability exists due to use of a hard-coded, publicly known cryptographic key in ZoneMinder's JWT authentication when validating login tokens. A remote attacker can submit an HTTP request containing a forged administrator JWT signed with the published default key to bypass authentication and gain administrator access.
Exploitation requires authentication to be enabled and ZM_AUTH_HASH_SECRET to remain at its shipped default. Token verification using this secret is shared by the web UI, API, and nph-zms/zmu.
Affected software
ZoneMinder
Remediation
Install security update from vendor's website.
ZoneMinder - addressed in versions 1.38.5, 1.38.6