# CVE-2026-66078: RabbitMQ: protected tag bypass via bulk-delete

> Administrators can bypass protected user safeguards to delete service accounts via the bulk-delete API endpoint in RabbitMQ.

- **Severity:** Low 2.1 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-105287, BIT-rabbitmq-2026-66078, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66078, GHSA-j9m2-hw6x-rqr9, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-66078

## What is CVE-2026-66078?

CVE-2026-66078 is a low-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Broadcom Rabbitmq Server, published on 25 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

RabbitMQ is a messaging and streaming broker. From 3.13.0 until 3.13.15 and 4.0.20 and 4.1.11 and 4.2.6, protected tag bypass via bulk-delete. dELETE /api/users/:name refuses to delete users tagged protected (rabbitmgmtwmuser:deleteresource/2 checks isprotecteduser). POST /api/users/bulk-delete iterates the supplied username list and calls rabbitauthbackendinternal:deleteuser/2 directly , that function has no protected-tag check , so the guard is silently An administrator can delete protected-tagged service accounts via the bulk endpoint, bypassing a safeguard the test suite confirms is rabbitmqmanagement enabled Attacker has the administrator tag A protected-tagged user. This issue is fixed in versions 3.13.15 and 4.0.20 and 4.1.11 and 4.2.6.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-66078?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including rabbitmq. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rabbitmq` | Bitnami | From 3.13.0 | 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, 4.2.6 |

Products: Broadcom Rabbitmq Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-66078?

Upgrade rabbitmq to a fixed version for your release line: 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11 or 4.2.6.

## Is CVE-2026-66078 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-66078 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Broadcom Rabbitmq Server

- [CVE-2016-9877](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9877/): Auth bypass in Pivotal RabbitMQ 3.x before 3.5.8 and 3.6.x before 3.6.6; RabbitMQ for PCF 1.5.x before 1.5.20, 1.6.x before 1.6.12 and 1.7.x before 1.7.7 (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-67404](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-67404/): RabbitMQ: OAuth2 silent verify_none fallback for JWKS fetch (critical 9.2)
- [CVE-2026-67231](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-67231/): RabbitMQ: Trust-store whitelist by Issuer+Serial only (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-57219](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-57219/): Information disclosure in rabbitmq-server (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2026-67236](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-67236/): RabbitMQ: Plaintext username:password stored in an insecure cookie after successful POST /login (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-66078 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-66078 is a low-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Broadcom Rabbitmq Server, published on 25 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-66078 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- rabbitmq (Bitnami): affected from 3.13.0; fixed in 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, 4.2.6

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-2026-66078/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-66078/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-66078
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-66078
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-66078

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-66078/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.