CVE-2026-42571 Privilege Escalation Attack affecting Pelican Web UI
Authenticated users can gain admin privileges in the Pelican WebUI under certain configurations, allowing unauthorized administrative control.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-42571?
CVE-2026-42571 is a critical vulnerability in PelicanPlatform pelican, published on 9 May 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Pelican is a platform for creating data federations. From versions 7.21.0 to before 7.21.5, 7.22.0 to before 7.22.3, 7.23.0 to before 7.23.3, and 7.24.0 to before 7.24.2, there is a a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Pelican's Web User Interface (WebUI). This attack allows any user authenticated to the WebUI via OAuth to gain admin privileges under certain configurations. This issue has been patched in versions 7.21.5, 7.22.3, 7.23.3, and 7.24.2.
Weakness: CWE-863
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-42571?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican Go | All versions | 0.0.0-20260408120501-7f73b9c3e677 |
github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican Go | All versions | 0.0.0-20260408120501-7f73b9c3e677 |
github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican Go | All versions | 0.0.0-20260408120501-7f73b9c3e677 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-42571?
Upgrade github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican to 0.0.0-20260408120501-7f73b9c3e677 or later.
Is CVE-2026-42571 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-42571 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-rpfr-x88x-xwcw, GO-2026-5632.