Missing InResponseTo validation in Samly allows acceptance of unsolicited SAML responses
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-345.
Summary
Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity vulnerability in dropbox samly allows an attacker to establish an authenticated session using a SAML response the service provider never requested. Samly.SPHandler.validate_authresp/3 in lib/samly/sp_handler.ex validates a SAML response for the SP-initiated flow by comparing only the RelayState value, the IdP identifier, and the presence of a target URL held in the session. It never compares SubjectConfirmationData/@InResponseTo against the ID of the AuthnRequest the service provider issued, and that request ID is never persisted, so no comparison is possible. SAML 2.0 Core section 4.1.4.3 requires a service provider to reject a response whose InResponseTo does not match a request it made. The underlying esaml library checks status, signature, recipient, audience, and staleness, but likewise never inspects InResponseTo, so nothing else closes the gap. Exploitation requires a validly signed assertion from the trusted IdP, which an attacker can obtain for their own account, and a RelayState matching the victim's session; the assertion signature itself remains intact, so this is not a signature-forgery issue. This issue affects samly: from 0.3.0 onward.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-53425
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4mhx-38g6-r4wq
References
More dropbox vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-79218 Unbounded SAML message decompression in esaml allows memory exhaustion CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-79203 Unbounded atom creation in esaml SAML parsing crashes Erlang nodes CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-79217 Unbounded atom creation from unsigned LogoutResponse status codes in esaml allows atom table exhaustion CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.2
- TI-2024-16922 In the Samly package before 1.4.0 for Elixir, Samly.State.Store.get_assertion/3 can… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38506 Missing one-time-use enforcement in Samly allows replay of SAML bearer assertions CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2024-05491 Protection mechanism failure in Dropbox Desktop CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-53425 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-53425 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4mhx-38g6-r4wq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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