# CVE-2026-78620: Improper Path Validation in Okta Access Gateway Kerberos Configuration Handling

> Attackers can write files to arbitrary locations on the Okta Access Gateway appliance due to improper path validation in Kerberos configuration handling.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 10 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q832-9j8g-vg4h

## What is CVE-2026-78620?

CVE-2026-78620 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Okta Access Gateway, published on 8 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Okta Access Gateway Kerberos configuration handler does not validate file paths specified in event payloads before writing file contents. The path from the event payload is used directly as the write destination, resulting in files being written to unintended locations on the appliance filesystem.

Weakness: CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-78620?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Okta Access Gateway.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-78620?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-78620 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-78620 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-78620 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Okta Access Gateway

- [CVE-2026-78626](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78626/): Improper Input Sanitization in Okta Access Gateway Protected Rules (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-78623](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78623/): Improper Handling of SAML Assertion Attributes in Okta Access Gateway Advanced Mode Datastores (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2026-78579](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78579/): Improper Input Sanitization in Okta Access Gateway LDAP Datastore Filter Interpolation (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2026-78625](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78625/): Insufficient Validation of Dashboard Application Labels in Okta Access Gateway Dashboard Site Configuration (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2026-78630](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78630/): Improper Input Neutralization in Okta Access Gateway SNMP Configuration Processing (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-78620 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-78620 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Okta Access Gateway, published on 8 Sep 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-78620 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Okta Access 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-2026-78620/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78620/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-78620
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78620
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-78620

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78620/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.