CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-6729NVD status: Analyzed

OpenHarness: Improper Authentication

CVE-2026-6729 is a high-severity improper authentication vulnerability in OpenHarness from HKUDS, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.6 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version PR #159 as the first without the flaw, so updating OpenHarness to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.2% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update OpenHarness to PR #159 or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
HKUDSOpenHarnessbefore PR #159PR #159

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
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
LowLimited modification of data is possible.
Availability
LowPerformance or availability is reduced.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.05.3MediumCNA (vulncheck.com)
CVSS 3.16.3MediumCNA (vulncheck.com)
CVSS 3.17.6HighNVD

Official description

HKUDS OpenHarness prior to PR #159 remediation contains a session key derivation vulnerability that allows authenticated participants in shared chats or threads to hijack other users' sessions by exploiting a shared ohmo session key that lacks sender identity verification. Attackers can reuse another user's conversation state and replace or interrupt their active tasks by colliding into the same session boundary through the shared chat or thread scope.

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: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Third-party and government advisories

Other vulnerabilities in OpenHarness

All OpenHarness vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Authentication vulnerabilities

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