CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-86043NVD status: Deferred

skipper: Incorrect Authorization

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-86043 is a high-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in skipper from Zalando, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected skipper versions: < 0.27.37. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.45% 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. Check which version of skipper you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  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
Zalandoskipper< 0.27.37Not stated

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
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
NoneNo data is disclosed.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

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

Official description

Skipper is an HTTP router and reverse proxy for service composition. Prior to version 0.27.37, the opaAuthorizeRequestWithBody filter can authorize an oversized request after Skipper truncates the body presented to Open Policy Agent because the input.truncated_body signal is derived from Content-Length rather than the actual read result. In filters/openpolicyagent/openpolicyagent.go, ExtractHttpBodyOptionally truncates bodies at maxBodyBytes, while filters/openpolicyagent/internal/envoy/skipperadapter.go copies the request headers without adding a Content-Length value that reflects the truncation. For an HTTP/1.1 request using Transfer-Encoding: chunked or an HTTP/2 request without Content-Length, a body-inspecting policy that follows the prior mitigation and permits input.truncated_body equal to false can evaluate only the truncated prefix, allow the request, and then forward the full oversized body to the protected upstream. This residual issue is distinct from CVE-2026-50197. This issue is fixed in version 0.27.37.

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

The underlying weakness: Incorrect Authorization

The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
  • Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature.

More Incorrect Authorization vulnerabilities (CWE-863)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).

References

Other vulnerabilities in skipper

All skipper vulnerabilities

Recent Incorrect Authorization vulnerabilities

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