CVE-2023-26481 Insufficient user check in FlowTokens by Email stage
An attacker can reset any user's password using an admin-generated recovery link if a specific custom flow configuration is present.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-26481?
CVE-2023-26481 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in goauthentik authentik, published on 4 Mar 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
authentik is an open-source Identity Provider. Due to an insufficient access check, a recovery flow link that is created by an admin (or sent via email by an admin) can be used to set the password for any arbitrary user. This attack is only possible if a recovery flow exists, which has both an Identification and an Email stage bound to it. If the flow has policies on the identification stage to skip it when the flow is restored (by checking `request.context['is_restored']`), the flow is not affected by this. With this flow in place, an administrator must create a recovery Link or send a recovery URL to the attacker, who can, due to the improper validation of the token create, set the password for any account. Regardless, for custom recovery flows it is recommended to add a policy that checks if the flow is restored, and skips the identification stage. This issue has been fixed in versions 2023.2.3, 2023.1.3 and 2022.12.2.
Weakness: CWE-345
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-26481?
1 open source package ship an affected version, including authentik. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
authentik Bitnami | All versions to 2023.1.3 | 2022.12.3 |
Products include Goauthentik Authentik.
How do I fix CVE-2023-26481?
Upgrade authentik to 2022.12.3 or later.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2023-26481 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-26481 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in goauthentik authentik
- CVE-2026-49448 authentik: SourceStage bypass via empty POST
- CVE-2023-46249 authentik potential installation takeover when default admin user is deleted
- CVE-2022-23555 authentik vulnerable to Improper Authentication via invitation URL token reuse
- CVE-2026-42849 authentik: Reflected XSS in SFE AutosubmitStage allows IDP account takeover
- CVE-2026-25227 authentik affected by Remote Code Execution via Context Key Injection in PropertyMapping Test Endpoint
Sources
Also known as BIT-authentik-2023-26481, GHSA-3xf5-pqvf-rqq3.