Unity Catalog has a JWT Issuer Validation Bypass Allows Complete User Impersonation
Priority MEDIUM 47CWE-1390Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-290.
Summary
Unity Catalog is an open, multi-modal Catalog for data and AI. In 0.4.0 and earlier, a critical authentication bypass vulnerability exists in the Unity Catalog token exchange endpoint (/api/1.0/unity-control/auth/tokens). The endpoint extracts the issuer (iss) claim from incoming JWTs and uses it to dynamically fetch the JWKS endpoint for signature validation without validating that the issuer is a trusted identity provider.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00208 10th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed io.unitycatalog:unitycatalog-server (Maven): 0.4.1
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unitycatalog | unitycatalog | up to 0.4.0 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | io.unitycatalog:unitycatalog-server (Maven) | before 0.4.1 | 0.4.1 | Patch available | GHSA-qqcj-rghw-829x |
- unitycatalog Vendorunitycatalog Affected up to 0.4.0 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- io.unitycatalog:unitycatalog-server (Maven) Vendor— Affected before 0.4.1 Fixed in 0.4.1 Patch available GHSA-qqcj-rghw-829x
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:unitycatalog:unitycatalog:*:*:*:*:data:*:*:* | up to 0.4.0 | Vulnerable | unitycatalog |
- cpe:2.3:a:unitycatalog:unitycatalog:*:*:*:*:data:*:*:* Versions up to 0.4.0 Vulnerable ·unitycatalog
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-qqcj-rghw-829x io.unitycatalog:unitycatalog-server (Maven) Fixed in 0.4.1 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-27478
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-qqcj-rghw-829x
References
Sources
- CVE-2026-27478 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-27478 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-qqcj-rghw-829x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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