# CVE-2026-18635: Velociraptor query plugin allows impersonation in other orgs

> Administrators in one organization can impersonate users in other organizations due to incorrect permission checks, enabling unauthorized access and privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 12 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5h5v-cxvm-wgr3

## What is CVE-2026-18635?

CVE-2026-18635 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Rapid7 Velociraptor, published on 11 Aug 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Velociraptor's VQL has a query() plugin which allows running a VQL query in a different org or user context. To be able to run as a different user, the calling user needs to have the IMPERSONATE permission (usually only given to administrators). Velociraptor versions prior to 0.77.2 evaluate this permission against the caller's org instead of against the target org.

This allows an administrator in one org to impersonate another user in another org, in which they may not have the IMPERSONATE permission.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-18635?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-18635?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-18635 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-18635 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-18635 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-18635 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-18635 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Rapid7 Velociraptor, published on 11 Aug 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-18635 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Rapid7 Velociraptor. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18635/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18635/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-18635
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-18635
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-18635

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18635/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.