Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as organization administrator
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DeliveryRegister SAML provider with attacker signing key
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ExploitCraft intent callback naming victim's linked provider
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ExecutionForge assertion signed with attacker key
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ImpactObtain authenticated session as targeted cross-org user
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Authentication mechanism validation
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Defense Evasion, Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires the attacker to already hold organization-administrator permission on the target ZITADEL instance (PR:H) and the ability to register a new SAML identity provider with a signing key of their choosing. A viable target user must be linked to a different, legitimate SAML provider on the same instance - the bypass works because the intent callback verifies the assertion signature against the provider named in the request URL but resolves the user from the login intent without confirming the two match. Exploitation is limited by the org-admin prerequisite and by the requirement that victims authenticate via SAML identity providers; instances that do not use SAML federation or that tightly restrict org-admin assignment are not realistically exposed. No special network positioning or user interaction is needed (AV:N/UI:N). |
| Impact | This is a genuine high-priority vulnerability, though not a 'spray-and-pray' internet-wide threat. The CVSS 4.0 vector (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N, score 9.3) tells a consistent story with the description: network-reachable, low attack complexity, no user interaction, but requiring high privileges (PR:H) - the attacker must already hold organization-administrator permission on the ZITADEL instance. The high-privilege requirement is the single most important mitigating signal and explains why this is a privilege-escalation/account-takeover flaw rather than an unauthenticated breach. Where it becomes severe is the scope change (SC:H/SI:H) and VC:H/VI:H: a compromised or malicious org-admin in one tenant can mint sessions as any user linked to another SAML provider on the instance, INCLUDING users in other organizations, which breaks the core tenant-isolation guarantee of a multi-tenant IAM product. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or public POC was provided in the input, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified; absence of a POC does not imply difficulty given AC:L. The CVSS vector and the prose description agree (both point to authenticated/network with a trust-boundary cross), so there is no internal conflict to flag - but defenders should note the risk is concentrated in environments that delegate org-admin to semi-trusted or numerous parties. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who holds organization-administrator rights in one tenant of a shared ZITADEL instance registers a SAML identity provider configured with their own signing key. They then drive the SAML intent callback so the assertion is validated against their attacker-controlled provider while the login intent resolves to a victim user bound to a different, legitimate SAML provider - yielding an authenticated session as that victim, potentially in another organization. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis, but the low attack complexity (AC:L) and absence of required user interaction make exploitation straightforward for anyone meeting the org-admin prerequisite. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 12, 2026
Authentication bypass in ZITADEL 4.x before 4.19.2 and 3.x through 3.4.15 lets an authenticated attacker with organization-administrator permission register a SAML identity provider using their own signing key and then obtain authenticated sessions as any user linked to a different SAML provider on the same instance, including users in other organizations. The flaw stems from the SAML identity-provider intent callback verifying the assertion signature against the provider named in the request URL while resolving the user from the login intent without confirming the two match. This is a genuine high-priority vulnerability, though not a 'spray-and-pray' internet-wide threat; exploitation requires the org-admin prerequisite and that victims authenticate via SAML identity providers. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and a vendor-released patch exists (4.19.2 and later for 4.x; a fix beyond 3.4.15 for 3.x).
RemediationAI
Upgrade to ZITADEL 4.19.2 or later for the 4.x branch, and to a version later than 3.4.15 (e.g., 3.4.16) for the 3.x branch, as directed by the vendor advisory (https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/security/advisories/GHSA-x4c7-fpcx-w9q6). If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by strictly limiting the organization-administrator role to trusted personnel, as the attacker must already hold that permission; note that this may impede legitimate administration. Additionally, if SAML federation is not essential, consider disabling it entirely-though this breaks federated logins. Audit existing SAML identity providers and remove any that are unrecognized or have unexpected signing keys. Enforce monitoring for new SAML provider registrations and for anomalous authentication events, particularly those crossing organization boundaries. These compensating controls are not complete substitutes for patching because they only raise the bar for exploitation and may introduce operational trade-offs.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
ZITADEL is an open-source identity and access management platform that supports SAML federation. The vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) arises in the SAML identity-provider intent callback. When a SAML response is received, the callback verifies the assertion signature using the public key of the identity provider specified in the request URL. However, it then resolves the authenticating user from the stored login intent without checking that the intent's associated provider matches the provider used for signature verification. An attacker who can create a new SAML identity provider (requiring organization-administrator permission) can supply a provider with their own signing key, craft a signed assertion for a victim user, and cause the callback to treat the victim as authenticated-even though the victim is legitimately linked to a different SAML provider. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:zitadel:zitadel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms ZITADEL as the affected product; the vulnerability affects the 4.x branch before 4.19.2 and the 3.x branch through 3.4.15. The assessed CVSS:3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N) reflects that exploitation requires high privileges, no user interaction, and results in cross-scope confidentiality and integrity impact, with availability unaffected.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N
Org-admin is required so PR:H; network-reachable callback with no user interaction gives AV:N/AC:L/UI:N; cross-organization impersonation crosses a trust boundary so S:C with high confidentiality and integrity impact and no availability effect.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
ZITADEL 4.x before 4.19.2 and 3.x through 3.4.15 contains an authentication bypass in the SAML identity-provider intent callback, which verifies the assertion signature using the provider named in the request URL but resolves the user from the login intent without checking they match. Attackers with organization-administrator permission can register a SAML provider with their own signing key to obtain authenticated sessions as any user linked to another SAML provider on the instance, including in other organizations.
Technical POC Analysis
The advisory describes CWE-287 Improper Authentication in ZITADEL's SAML identity-provider intent callback, the endpoint used by Login V2 and custom login UIs on the session API to complete an extern…
Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.
Executive ViewAI
ZITADEL versions 4.x before 4.19.2 and 3.x through 3.4.15 contain a critical authentication bypass that allows an attacker with organization-administrator privileges to register a SAML identity provider with their own signing key and then impersonate any user linked to a different SAML provider, including users in other organizations. This undermines the integrity of federated identity across the organization and could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive applications and data. Leadership should prioritize remediation given the critical severity and potential cross-organizational impact.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
Zitadel is open-source identity infrastructure software. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remot
ZITADEL is an identity infrastructure system. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable
Account takeover in ZITADEL affects instances running 3.0.0 through 3.4.15 and 4.0.0 before 4.17.3: an unauthenticated r
Cross-organization account takeover in ZITADEL 3.x before 3.4.15 and 4.x before 4.17.1 allows an authenticated attacker
Stored XSS in ZITADEL identity management platform versions 4.0.0 to 4.11.1 allows unauthenticated attackers to inject p
Account pre-hijacking in ZITADEL lets an unauthenticated remote attacker create a user record already bound to a victim'
Authentication bypass in ZITADEL's Login V2 UI (versions 3.0.0 through 4.19.1) allows unauthenticated attackers to take
Remote account takeover in ZITADEL versions before 4.17.1 allows unauthenticated attackers to compromise MFA-protected a
The open-source identity infrastructure software Zitadel allows administrators to disable the user self-registration. Ra
The open-source identity infrastructure software Zitadel allows administrators to disable the user self-registration. Ra
Unauthenticated username-change in ZITADEL's hosted Login V1 UI lets a remote attacker rename any active human account -
ZITADEL 4.x before 4.17.1 fails to check an organization's inactive state during Login V2 authentication, allowing users
EUVD-2026-97670
GHSA-65fv-6pff-4q47
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB