Kimai: Improper Authorization in Kimai Activity Creation with Preset Project Allows Creation Under Unauthorized Projects
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-639.
Summary
Kimai is an open-source time tracking application. Prior to 2.57.0, GET or POST requests to /en/admin/activity/create/{project} and /en/admin/project/create/{customer} require only the generic create_activity or create_project capability and do not verify edit access to the supplied Project or Customer object. A user who knows a valid project.id or customer identifier can use the preset-parent creation logic in src/Controller/ActivityController.php or src/Controller/ProjectController.php to persist a new child business object under an unauthorized parent, polluting project or customer configuration and influencing later time-entry, rate, reporting, and billing behavior. This issue is fixed in version 2.57.0.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kimai | kimai | before 2.57.0 | 2.57.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | kimai/kimai (Packagist) | before 2.57.0 | 2.57.0 | Patch available | GHSA-3q6q-26vg-v97x |
- kimai Vendorkimai Affected before 2.57.0 Fixed in 2.57.0 Patch available CNA
- kimai/kimai (Packagist) Vendor— Affected before 2.57.0 Fixed in 2.57.0 Patch available GHSA-3q6q-26vg-v97x
Remediation
- Fix · CNA kimai (kimai) Fixed in 2.57.0
- Fix · GHSA-3q6q-26vg-v97x kimai/kimai (Packagist) Fixed in 2.57.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-52821
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3q6q-26vg-v97x
References
Other 6
- https://github.com/kimai/kimai/security/advisories/GHSA-3q6q-26vg-v97x
- https://github.com/kimai/kimai/pull/5929
- https://github.com/kimai/kimai/commit/976d38e8a4485a1c923ee7b5841849e91a06e849
- https://github.com/kimai/kimai/releases/tag/2.57.0
- https://www.kimai.org/en/security/ghsa-3q6q-26vg-v97x
- https://github.com/kimai/kimai
More kimai vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-30240 Kimai 1.30.10 SameSite Cookie Vulnerability Session Hijacking CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.5
- TI-2026-55437 Kimai before 2.58.0 Authentication Bypass via Password Reset Link CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-55443 Kimai before 2.56.0 Authorization Bypass via TimesheetVoter CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2026-22900 Kimai: API invoice endpoint missing customer-level access control (IDOR) CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2026-55440 Kimai before 2.54.0 Username Enumeration via Timing Oracle CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.3
- TI-2026-37927 Incorrect authorization in kimai CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-52821 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-52821 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3q6q-26vg-v97x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences