authentik: Privilege Escalation to Superuser via Group Hierarchy
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Privilege escalation, Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-269 and CWE-863.
Summary
authentik is an open-source identity provider. Prior to 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, and 2026.8.2, an account with delegated permission to manage a group, group membership, or a user can grant superuser status to an account or assign an existing role to a group without holding the permissions that gate those privileges. Group hierarchy checks do not consistently account for superuser status inherited from ancestor groups, and role assignment to a group lacks the required authorization check. Only deployments that delegate these management capabilities to accounts that are not full administrators are affected. This issue is fixed in versions 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, and 2026.8.2.
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
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| goauthentik | authentik | before 2026.2.7; 2026.5.0 to before 2026.5.7; 2026.8.0 to before 2026.8.2 | 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, 2026.8.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- authentik Vendorgoauthentik Affected before 2026.2.7; 2026.5.0 to before 2026.5.7; 2026.8.0 to before 2026.8.2 Fixed in 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, 2026.8.2 Patch available CNA
CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1
Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:goauthentik:authentik:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | goauthentik |
- cpe:2.3:a:goauthentik:authentik:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·goauthentik
Remediation
- Fix · CNA authentik (goauthentik) Fixed in 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, 2026.8.2
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-94609
References
Other 15
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/security/advisories/GHSA-h6c5-mpvq-j4jc
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pull/25956
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pull/25961
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pull/25966
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pull/25971
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/5f95b86f6f70c3bd8c625a4f9ae474e235f84030
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/67317f66f1b7eb16f2a26bf550dfd73699d49d87
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/67e470dde8c81a40ee27ec6e178462368c561a60
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/898e4e4fa070642a3541a376af0de64fe3ffeb67
- https://docs.goauthentik.io/releases/2026.2#fixed-in-202627
- https://docs.goauthentik.io/releases/2026.5#fixed-in-202657
- https://docs.goauthentik.io/releases/2026.8#fixed-in-202682
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/releases/tag/version/2026.2.7
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/releases/tag/version/2026.5.7
- https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/releases/tag/version/2026.8.2
More goauthentik vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-36603 authentik: SourceStage bypass via empty POST CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-07608 authentik vulnerable to Improper Authentication via invitation URL token reuse CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.4
- TI-2026-36598 authentik: `UserSourceConnection.user` and `GroupSourceConnection.group` are changeable through the API CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-22816 authentik allows existing authenticated users to create arbitrary accounts CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.4
- TI-2026-41431 authentik: Account Takeover via SAML NameID Comment Truncation CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.4
- TI-2024-25628 Insufficient access control for OAuth2 Device Code flow in authentik CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences