CVE-2023-26481

CRITICALNVD 9.19.1—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

This critical-severity CVE scores 9.1 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.3%, top 80% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).

Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: epss, nvd
9.1EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0%CVSS: 9.1Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

authentik is an open-source Identity Provider. Due to an insufficient access check, a recovery flow link that is created by an admin (or sent via email by an admin) can be used to set the password for any arbitrary user. This attack is only possible if a recovery flow exists, which has both an Identification and an Email stage bound to it. If the flow has policies on the identification stage to skip it when the flow is restored (by checking request.context['is_restored']), the flow is not affected by this. With this flow in place, an administrator must create a recovery Link or send a recovery URL to the attacker, who can, due to the improper validation of the token create, set the password for any account. Regardless, for custom recovery flows it is recommended to add a policy that checks if the flow is restored, and skips the identification stage. This issue has been fixed in versions 2023.2.3, 2023.1.3 and 2022.12.2.

CVSS v3
9.1
EG Score
9.1(medium)
EG Risk
41(Track)
EG Risk 41/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity91% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
0%
EPSS %ILE
20%
KEV
Not listed

Published

March 4, 2023

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

Advisory Details (2)

Auto-updated Jul 19, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github.
generic

Release 2023.2 - Signout and Avatar improvements | authentik

https://goauthentik.io/docs/releases/2023.2#fixed-in-202323
github Patch Available

Insufficient user check in FlowTokens by Email stage · Advisory · goauthentik/authentik · GitHub

https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/security/advisories/GHSA-3xf5-pqvf-rqq3

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2023-26481?
CVE-2023-26481 is a critical vulnerability published on March 4, 2023. authentik is an open-source Identity Provider. Due to an insufficient access check, a recovery flow link that is created by an admin (or sent via email by an admin) can be used to set the password for any arbitrary user. This attack is only possible if a recovery flow exists, which has both an…
When was CVE-2023-26481 disclosed?
CVE-2023-26481 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on March 4, 2023, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2023-26481 actively exploited?
CVE-2023-26481 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 80.4% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-26481?
CVE-2023-26481 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.1 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2023-26481?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2023-26481, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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