Crypt::DSA versions before 1.22 for Perl draw the DSA signing nonce and private key from a biased random generator, leading to private-key recovery. "Crypt::DSA::Util::makerandom forces the high bit of every value it returns to obtain an exactly N-bit integer for prime search. The signing nonce and the private key are drawn from makerandom. Because the high bit is always set, the result is not uniform: its top bit is fixed, producing insecure values." An attacker who collects a modest number of signatures under an affected key, together with the public key, can recover the private key with a lattice attack. Keys used to sign with an affected version should be considered compromised and new keys should be generated.

Crypt::DSA versions before 1.21 for Perl reused the nonce across signatures, leading to private-key recovery. Crypt::DSA::sign caches the per-signature nonce material in the Key object without ever clearing it. The first sign() on a Key object picks a nonce, and every later sign() on that same object reuses it, producing an identical "r". Keys used to sign more than once with an affected version should be considered compromised.

Crypt::DSA versions before 1.20 for Perl generate seeds using rand. Seeds were generated using Perl's built-in rand function, which is predictable and unsuitable for security usage.

Crypt::DSA versions through 1.19 for Perl use 2-args open, allowing existing files to be modified.