# CVE-2026-76578: Ipa: freeipa: freeipa: unauthenticated ldap client can obtain administrator credentials via the self-managed-token aci

> Unauthenticated attackers can bypass authentication to create admin principals and gain full administrative control over the FreeIPA directory.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 26 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-76578, GHSA-cgrx-2q4j-9f37, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-76578

## What is CVE-2026-76578?

CVE-2026-76578 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 7 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in FreeIPA. The self-managed OTP token ACI does not require authentication and does not restrict which attributes may be added alongside the token entry. An unauthenticated LDAP client can exploit this, combined with a related flaw in the underlying directory server's ACI evaluation (tracked separately), to create an arbitrary attacker-controlled Kerberos principal and have it added to the administrators group. This allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to obtain genuine FreeIPA administrator-group membership and perform administrative operations against the directory and, on SID-enabled deployments, other IdM services.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-76578?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-76578?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-76578 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-76578 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/BrainBob/CVE-2026-76578 (github_poc): https://github.com/BrainBob/CVE-2026-76578

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-76578 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-76578 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, published on 7 Sep 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-2026-76578 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. 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-2026-76578/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76578/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-76578
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-76578
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-76578

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76578/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.