GHSA-c3m2-jqmq-pvp3
authentik's XML Signature Wrapping in SAML Source ACS allows authentication as arbitrary federated user
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | goauthentik.io | < 0.0.0-20260528144335-a370d76d23c7 | 0.0.0-20260528144335-a370d76d23c7 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Summary
authentik's SAML Source ACS endpoint is vulnerable to XML Signature Wrapping when validating upstream SAML responses. An attacker with any account at the upstream IdP can reuse a valid signed assertion to authenticate as another federated user.
### Patches
authentik 2026.5.1, 2026.2.4 and 2025.12.6 fix this issue.
### Impact
Affected: authentik deployments using a SAML Source for upstream SAML federation with signed assertions, or signed responses without signed assertions. Not affected: deployments that do not use SAML Source for upstream SAML federation.
The SAML Source trusts that the verified XML signature belongs to the assertion or response that authentik later consumes. A crafted SAML response can make signature verification succeed against the attacker's original signed assertion while authentik reads identity data from a different forged assertion.
An attacker first completes a legitimate login to the upstream IdP and captures the signed SAML response sent through their browser. They then submit a modified response to the ACS endpoint where the valid signature still verifies, but the consumed assertion contains a victim identifier or attacker-chosen attributes.
The attacker can authenticate as a victim who has previously used the SAML Source, or as a local user matched by forged email or username when those matching modes are enabled.
### Workarounds
Disable affected SAML Sources, or block access to their ACS endpoints.
### For more information
If there are any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Send an email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.