Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as unit agent
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ExploitCraft request to update secret revision
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ExecutionBypass authorization checks in Vault back-end
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ImpactModify or poison secret data
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization verification
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Defense Evasion The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires Juju versions 3.1.6 through 3.6.18 with Vault secrets back-end enabled. Attacker must be an authenticated unit agent within the Juju deployment. No victim interaction needed. Remote exploitation possible within the cluster. |
| Impact | The real-world risk is elevated based on multiple factors. The CVSS vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L) indicates this is a network-exploitable vulnerability with low attack complexity requiring only low privileges and no user interaction, making it relatively easy to exploit once an attacker has authenticated unit agent access. The high integrity impact (I:H) is particularly concerning as secret poisoning could enable attackers to inject malicious credentials or configuration data that would be trusted by other services. However, the requirement for authenticated access (PR:L) and the need for sufficient information about existing secrets provides some barrier to entry. Without EPSS data or KEV listing, widespread active exploitation is not indicated, but the Canonical origin and GitHub security advisory suggest this is a legitimate vendor-acknowledged issue affecting production deployments. Organizations using Juju with Vault back-ends should prioritize this based on the low complexity and high integrity impact, especially in multi-tenant or untrusted deployment scenarios where unit agents may be compromised. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has compromised a single unit agent within a Juju deployment (perhaps through a separate application vulnerability or stolen credentials) can leverage this authorization bypass to modify secret revisions managed by the Vault back-end beyond their intended scope. With knowledge of secret paths and revision identifiers, the attacker could poison credentials used by other applications in the deployment, such as injecting malicious database passwords or API keys that would then be consumed by legitimate services. The network-based attack vector with low complexity means that once an attacker gains authenticated unit agent access, exploitation can be automated without complex attack chains or user interaction, potentially enabling lateral movement and privilege escalation across the entire Juju-managed infrastructure. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 18, 2026
An authorization bypass vulnerability exists in the Vault secrets back-end implementation of Canonical's Juju orchestration tool, allowing authenticated unit agents to perform unauthorized updates to secret revisions beyond their intended scope. Juju versions 3.1.6 through 3.6.18 are affected, and attackers with sufficient information can poison any existing secret revision within the Vault secret back-end scope. With a CVSS score of 7.6 (High severity) featuring network attack vector, low complexity, and high integrity impact, this represents a significant security concern for Juju deployments using Vault as their secrets back-end, though no active exploitation (KEV) status or EPSS score was provided in available data.
RemediationAI
Organizations should upgrade Juju to version 3.6.19 or later, or apply patches available from Canonical as detailed in the GitHub security advisory at https://github.com/juju/juju/security/advisories/GHSA-89x7-5m5m-mcmm. Until patching is completed, organizations should implement additional access controls and monitoring around unit agent authentication, review and audit Vault secret access patterns for anomalous modification attempts, and consider temporarily isolating or restricting network access to Juju controllers managing sensitive Vault-backed secrets. Organizations not using the Vault secrets back-end are not affected by this specific vulnerability. After upgrading, review all secret revisions for potential poisoning and rotate any secrets that may have been exposed to untrusted unit agents during the vulnerable period.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 2 packages in go, euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Juju is Canonical's application modeling and orchestration tool used for deploying and managing applications across cloud environments. The vulnerability resides in the Vault secrets back-end implementation, where unit agents (authenticated components that manage application units) interact with HashiCorp Vault for secrets management. The affected product is identified via CPE as cpe:2.3:a:canonical:juju spanning versions 3.1.6 through 3.6.18. The root cause is classified as CWE-285 (Improper Authorization), indicating that the system fails to properly verify whether a unit agent has the appropriate permissions to modify secret revisions, allowing privilege escalation within the secrets management layer. This is particularly concerning as Vault integration is typically used to centralize and secure sensitive credentials across distributed application deployments.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
An authorization bypass vulnerability in the Vault secrets back-end implementation of Juju versions 3.1.6 through 3.6.18 allows an authenticated unit agent to perform unauthorized updates to secret revisions. With sufficient information, an attacker can poison any existing secret revision within the scope of that Vault secret back-end.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity authorization bypass vulnerability in Juju's Vault integration allows authenticated agents to illegally modify secrets, posing a critical risk to organizations managing infrastructure through Juju with Vault backends. This vulnerability affects Juju versions 3.1.6-3.6.18 and could enable attackers to compromise sensitive credentials and configuration data across deployed systems.
Disable Vault secret backend and migrate to alternative secrets storage if operationally feasible; implement strict network segmentation to limit unit agent communication; enforce the principle of least privilege for Juju service accounts; enhance monitoring and logging of secret access attempts; conduct regular audits of secret revision modifications; consider running affected systems in isolated environments until patches are available.
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.
Related Vulnerabilities in Juju Secrets Management Authorization
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The /charms endpoint on a Juju controller lacked sufficient authorization checks, allowing any user with an account on t
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A predictable secret identifier (XID) vulnerability in Juju versions 3.0.0 through 3.6.18 allows a malicious grantee to
Same weakness CWE-285 – Improper Authorization
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
View allVendor StatusVendor
Debian
| Release | Status | Fixed Version | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| (unstable) | fixed | (unfixed) | - |
SUSE
Severity: High| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Fixed |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 | Fixed |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 | Fixed |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Fixed |
EUVD-2026-12817
GHSA-89x7-5m5m-mcmm
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
Exploit-DB