CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2024-47070NVD status: Analyzed

authentik: Improper Authentication

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2024-47070 is a critical-severity improper authentication vulnerability in authentik from Goauthentik, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.0 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 2024.6.5, 2024.8.3 as the first without the flaw, so updating authentik to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.56% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update authentik to 2024.6.5 or 2024.8.3, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Goauthentikauthentik>= 2024.8.0-rc1, < 2024.8.3; < 2024.6.5; before 2024.6.5; 2024.8.0-rc1 up to, but not including, 2024.8.32024.6.5, 2024.8.3

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

authentik is an open-source identity provider. A vulnerability that exists in versions prior to 2024.8.3 and 2024.6.5 allows bypassing password login by adding X-Forwarded-For header with an unparsable IP address, e.g. `a`. This results in a possibility of logging into any account with a known login or email address. The vulnerability requires the authentik instance to trust X-Forwarded-For header provided by the attacker, thus it is not reproducible from external hosts on a properly configured environment. The issue occurs due to the password stage having a policy bound to it, which skips the password stage if the Identification stage is setup to also contain a password stage. Due to the invalid X-Forwarded-For header, which does not get validated to be an IP Address early enough, the exception happens later and the policy fails. The default blueprint doesn't correctly set `failure_result` to `True` on the policy binding meaning that due to this exception the policy returns false and the password stage is skipped. Versions 2024.8.3 and 2024.6.5 fix this issue.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Authentication

When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use an authentication framework or library such as the OWASP ESAPI Authentication feature.

More Improper Authentication vulnerabilities (CWE-287)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in authentik

All authentik vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Authentication vulnerabilities

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