CVE-2026-33503 Ory Kratos has a SQL injection via forged pagination tokens
Attackers can execute SQL injection via forged pagination tokens in Ory Kratos, especially if the default encryption secret is used.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-33503?
CVE-2026-33503 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in ory kratos, published on 26 Mar 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Ory Kratos is an identity, user management and authentication system for cloud services. Prior to version 26.2.0, the ListCourierMessages Admin API in Ory Kratos is vulnerable to SQL injection due to flaws in its pagination implementation. Pagination tokens are encrypted using the secret configured in `secrets.pagination`. An attacker who knows this secret can craft their own tokens, including malicious tokens that lead to SQL injection. If this configuration value is not set, Kratos falls back to a default pagination encryption secret. Because this default value is publicly known, attackers can generate valid and malicious pagination tokens manually for installations where this secret is not set. As a first line of defense, immediately configure a custom value for `secrets.pagination` by generating a cryptographically secure random secret. Next, upgrade Kratos** to a fixed version, 26.2.0 or later, as soon as possible.
Weakness: CWE-89
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-33503?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/ory/kratos. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/ory/kratos Go | All versions | 1.3.1-0.20260320110106-9d7085948039 |
github.com/ory/kratos Go | All versions | 1.3.1-0.20260320110106-9d7085948039 |
github.com/ory/kratos Go | All versions | 1.3.1-0.20260320110106-9d7085948039 |
Products include Ory Kratos.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33503?
Upgrade github.com/ory/kratos to 1.3.1-0.20260320110106-9d7085948039 or later.
Use parameterised queries everywhere and never build SQL by joining strings. Upgrade affected software first; a web application firewall only buys time. More about SQL injection.
Is CVE-2026-33503 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-33503 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-hgx2-28f8-6g2r, GO-2026-4801.