CVE-2023-26053 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in Gradle

Gradle is a build tool with a focus on build automation and support for multi-language development. This is a collision attack on long IDs (64bits) for PGP keys. Users of dependency verification in Gradle are vulnerable if they use long IDs for PGP keys in a `trusted-key` or `pgp` element in their dependency verification metadata file. The fix is to fail dependency verification if anything but a fingerprint is used in a trust element in dependency verification metadata. The problem is fixed in Gradle 8.0 and above. The problem is also patched in Gradle 6.9.4 and 7.6.1. As a workaround, use only full fingerprint IDs for `trusted-key` or `pgp` element in the metadata is a protection against this issue.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-05-26	0.46%	0.66%	+0.20%
2	2026-03-03	0.37%	0.46%	+0.09%
3	2025-11-21	—	0.37%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-05-26

0.46%

0.66%

+0.20%

2026-03-03

0.37%

0.46%

+0.09%

2025-11-21

—

0.37%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
6.6	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	0.7	5.9	[email protected]
9.8	3.1	CRITICAL	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	3.9	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

6.6

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

0.7

5.9

[email protected]

9.8

3.1

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

3.9

5.9

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-26053

vendor	priority	summary	link
`alpine`	critical	CVE-2023-26053: 1 source package rows (gradle); 11 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 7, open 4.	https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-26053
`debian`	unimportant	CVE-2023-26053 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (gradle), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-26053
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-26053
`suse`	medium	CVE-2023-26053 severity moderate: SUSE including 1 source package names (gradle), 11 product×package rows across 11 product lines (SUSE Enterprise Storage 7, SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1, … (11 product lines)): Known Not Affected 11.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-26053/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2023-26053 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (gradle), 13 status rows across 13 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 7, ignored 6.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-26053

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-26053

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
gradle	gradle	>= 6.2.0, < 6.9.4	cpe:2.3:a:gradle:gradle::::::::
gradle	gradle	>= 7.0.0, < 7.6.1	cpe:2.3:a:gradle:gradle::::::::

References for CVE-2023-26053

URL	Tags
https://github.com/gradle/gradle/commit/bf3cc0f2b463033037e67aaacda31291643ea1a9	Patch
https://github.com/gradle/gradle/security/advisories/GHSA-c724-3xg7-g3hf	Vendor Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230413-0002/

URL

CVE-2023-26053 | Gradle usage of long IDs for PGP keys opens potential for collision attacks

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-26053

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-26053

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-26053

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-26053

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-26053

References for CVE-2023-26053