# CVE-2026-78573: IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway is affected by use of default credentials

> Remote attackers can gain administrative access to IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway due to the presence of default credentials.

- **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:** No
- **Published:** 10 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 11 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-87q9-x2gp-qchr

## What is CVE-2026-78573?

CVE-2026-78573 is a critical vulnerability in IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway, published on 10 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway 1.0.0 through 1.0.7 could allow a remote attacker to gain administrative access due to the use of default credentials.

Weakness: CWE-1392 (Use of Default Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-78573?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Contextforge.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-78573?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-78573 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-78573 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-78573 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway

- [CVE-2026-18486](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18486/): IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway is affected by credential disclosure and privilege escalation via jq filter execution (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-77822](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-77822/): Server-side request forgery in ContextForge MCP Gateway (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-18905](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18905/): IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway is affected by server-side request forgery via DNS TOCTOU at tool invocation (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2026-18489](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18489/): IBM ContextForge Translate is affected by cross-client credential context confusion (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2026-77825](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-77825/): IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway is affected by path traversal (medium 4.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-78573 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-78573 is a critical vulnerability in IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway, published on 10 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-2026-78573 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM ContextForge MCP Gateway. 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-2026-78573/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78573/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-78573
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78573
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-78573

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78573/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.