SecureDrop copies Onion Service credentials to Monitor Server
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-201.
Summary
SecureDrop from 2.13.0 before 2.16.1 copies its admin configuration files, including Onion Service client authentication credentials, to the Monitor Server (CWE-201). Running the securedrop-admin install playbook with journalist alerts disabled leaves the alert key filename empty, so the copy task transfers every file. An attacker must first compromise the privileged Monitor Server, and the credentials alone do not grant sufficient access.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.13.0 until 2.16.1, running the securedrop-admin install Ansible playbook with journalist alerts disabled leaves the journalist alert key filename empty, causing the copy task to transfer every file in ~/.config/securedrop-admin/, including Onion Service client authentication credentials, to the Monitor Server. An attacker must first compromise the privileged Monitor Server to obtain the credentials, and the credentials remain an additional protection layer rather than sufficient access by themselves because the Journalist Interface still requires a username, passphrase, and MFA, while SSH access still requires SSH keys. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.1.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| freedomofpress | securedrop | 2.13.0 to before 2.16.1 | 2.16.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- securedrop Vendorfreedomofpress Affected 2.13.0 to before 2.16.1 Fixed in 2.16.1 Patch available CNA
Remediation
Upgrade SecureDrop to version 2.16.1, which fixes the issue.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA securedrop (freedomofpress) Fixed in 2.16.1
Timeline
- 2026-11-06 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-71863
References
More freedomofpress vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-18590 Path traversal in SecureDrop Client API.download_reply() CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2026-83225 SecureDrop lets API session tokens be reused against the web UI CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.0
- TI-2025-18591 Path traversal in sd-log Qubes virtual machine CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 4.5
- TI-2026-36827 securedrop-proxy origin limitation can be bypassed with redirects CVSS 3.1LOW 3.7
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences