Keycloak-services: keycloak-services: essential acr requirement silently bypassed via cookie authenticator
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · None
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-862.
Summary
A flaw was found in the Level of Authentication enforcement mechanism of Keycloak, an identity and access management solution. The issue occurs when a client specifically requires a higher security level for a user who already has an active session at a lower level. Due to a logic error in how session re-evaluations are handled, Keycloak may incorrectly issue a token at the lower security level instead of enforcing the required higher level, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive resources that rely on these security claims.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Build of Keycloak | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Single Sign-On 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-97176
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5jw9-cc9v-8h8r
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-97176 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-97176 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5jw9-cc9v-8h8r · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-97176 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences