# CVE-2026-33494: Ory Oathkeeper has a path traversal authorization bypass

> Attackers can bypass authorization rules using path traversal sequences to access protected resources in Ory Oathkeeper.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 27 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p224-6x5r-fjpm, GO-2026-4804

## What is CVE-2026-33494?

CVE-2026-33494 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in ory oathkeeper, published on 26 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ORY Oathkeeper is an Identity & Access Proxy (IAP) and Access Control Decision API that authorizes HTTP requests based on sets of Access Rules. Versions prior to 26.2.0 are vulnerable to an authorization bypass via HTTP path traversal. An attacker can craft a URL containing path traversal sequences (e.g. `/public/../admin/secrets`) that resolves to a protected path after normalization, but is matched against a permissive rule because the raw, un-normalized path is used during rule evaluation. Version 26.2.0 contains a patch.

Weakness: CWE-23 (Relative Path Traversal)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-33494?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/ory/oathkeeper. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/ory/oathkeeper` | Go | All versions | 0.40.10-0.20260320084758-8e0002140491 |
| `github.com/ory/oathkeeper` | Go | All versions | 0.40.10-0.20260320084758-8e0002140491 |
| `github.com/ory/oathkeeper` | Go | All versions | 0.40.10-0.20260320084758-8e0002140491 |

Products: Ory Oathkeeper.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-33494?

Upgrade github.com/ory/oathkeeper to 0.40.10-0.20260320084758-8e0002140491 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-33494 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-33494 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in ory oathkeeper

- [CVE-2026-33496](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33496/): Ory Oathkeeper has an authentication bypass by cache key confusion (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2021-32701](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32701/): Possible bypass of token claim validation when OAuth2 Introspection caching is enabled (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-33495](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33495/): Ory Oathkeeper has an authentication bypass by usage of untrusted header (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-33494 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-33494 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in ory oathkeeper, published on 26 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-33494 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/ory/oathkeeper (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.40.10-0.20260320084758-8e0002140491
- github.com/ory/oathkeeper (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.40.10-0.20260320084758-8e0002140491
- github.com/ory/oathkeeper (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.40.10-0.20260320084758-8e0002140491

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-2026-33494/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33494/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-33494
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-33494
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-33494

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33494/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.