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smart-sso EUVDEUVD-2026-115888

| CVE-2026-121543 HIGH
Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863)
2026-11-03 VulnCheck
8.7
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate with any low-privilege account
  2. Exploit
    Call unlisted /admin/user-role/save endpoint
  3. Execution
    Assign administrator role to self
  4. Impact
    Reset passwords and control integrated SSO systems

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization logic validation
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

The attacker must hold a valid authenticated session on the smart-sso server (PR:L) - any registered low-privilege user account suffices; it is not exploitable by a fully anonymous attacker. The decisive condition is PermissionFilter's default-allow behavior: it only enforces authorization on request paths explicitly registered in sso_permission.code, and any unlisted path (including backend admin APIs such as /admin/user-role/save) is permitted by default. This means default deployments are vulnerable out of the box, because the built-in admin console registers page paths (xxx.html) rather than the backend servlet API paths. The primary limiting factor is the account requirement; a deployment is only protected if administrators have manually registered the backend API paths into the permission table (and re-logged in to refresh the permission snapshot), which the vendor documentation indicates is not the default.

Impact

This is a genuine priority rather than a CVSS-inflated non-issue, though it is not a drop-everything emergency. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N) scores 8.7 and is internally consistent with the description: network-reachable, low attack complexity, and crucially PR:L - exploitation requires an existing authenticated (low-privilege) account, not an anonymous attacker. The impact triad VC:H/VI:H/VA:H is well justified because a successful attacker self-assigns the administrator role and can reset passwords and manage users, roles, and applications. Because smart-sso is an identity/SSO broker, the practical blast radius extends to every integrated downstream application, so the real-world impact arguably exceeds what the SC:N/SI:N/SA:N (no subsequent-system) metrics capture. On the exploitation-likelihood side the signals are weaker and partially absent: no EPSS score was provided, and there is no CISA KEV listing, so there is no confirmed-active-exploitation signal - this is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, with the caveat that the vulnerable code path, the exact endpoint (/admin/user-role/save), and the root cause are fully documented in the public VulnCheck advisory, the GitHub issue, and the source/commit references, which makes reliable reproduction trivial for anyone with an account. The vendor's own priority label is 'this_week', consistent with a serious but authentication-gated flaw rather than an emergency. Missing data to note: no EPSS and no KEV status were supplied, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified from the input.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who holds any ordinary authenticated account on a smart-sso deployment (for example a self-registered or low-privilege user) sends a request directly to the unlisted admin endpoint /admin/user-role/save, which PermissionFilter allows by default because the path was never registered in sso_permission.code. The request binds the administrator role to the attacker's own user, after which they can reset other users' passwords and administer users, roles, and applications across all SSO-integrated systems. No separate exploit tool is required; the technique is documented in the public advisory and source references, so exploitation is straightforward despite no confirmed in-the-wild activity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available

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AnalysisAIv1 – Nov 03, 2026

Incorrect authorization in smart-sso through 2.0.1 lets any registered low-privilege user reach admin console APIs, because PermissionFilter only enforces permissions on request paths that are explicitly registered in sso_permission.code and allows every unlisted path by default. The built-in admin console registers page paths such as xxx.html rather than the backend servlet paths, so a default deployment leaves endpoints like /admin/user-role/save reachable; calling it lets an attacker grant themselves the administrator role, reset passwords, and manage users, roles, and applications across integrated systems. Exploitation requires a valid authenticated session (PR:L) and is not possible for a fully anonymous attacker; the vendor has published an upstream fix (commit 9bccabaa5ec5 plus a second commit) and a fixed release version is not stated in the available data. A public PoC reference exists; it is not verified as working exploit code, and no confirmed active exploitation (CISA KEV) was identified at time of analysis.

RemediationAI

Apply the upstream fixes referenced for this issue, commits 9bccabaa5ec5 and a74a791bea7fc7b06ce95f52ce5805d8d7886d48 (https://github.com/a466350665/smart-sso/commit/9bccabaa5ec5 and https://github.com/a466350665/smart-sso/commit/a74a791bea7fc7b06ce95f52ce5805d8d7886d48); patch status is available from the vendor, but a tagged fixed release version is not stated in the available data, so confirm the release line before upgrading. Because PermissionFilter keeps allowing unregistered paths by default, the code fix alone is not a complete control: register every sensitive backend servlet path (for example /admin/user-role/save and other admin APIs) as a permission code in the permission management console, grant them only to appropriate roles, and have users re-login so the permission snapshot is refreshed, at the cost of permission data becoming a maintained, security-critical configuration surface. Where such registration cannot be completed immediately, restrict the admin console paths at the network or reverse-proxy layer to trusted administrative source addresses and audit existing role assignments and password resets for signs of self-promotion, accepting that this blocks legitimate remote administration. The vendor advisory and issue discussion are at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/smart-sso-through-2.0.1-incorrect-authorization-in-permissionfilter-enables-admin-escalation and https://github.com/a466350665/smart-sso/issues/79.

Affected VersionsENISA

Smart-SSO 0 ≤2.0.1

Affected Packages

euvd smart_sso no fix

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

smart-sso is a Java single sign-on platform distributed as a server (smart-sso-server) and a client starter (smart-sso-starter-client) that integrated applications embed to enforce access decisions. The root cause is CWE-863, Incorrect Authorization: the client-side PermissionFilter compares request.getServletPath() against permission codes registered in the sso_permission table using exact string matching and treats unmatched paths as permitted, so authorization is opt-in per path rather than default-deny. Because the permission snapshot shipped with the admin console registers HTML page paths instead of the backend servlet API paths, the controller layer (for example UserRoleController, whose /admin/user-role/save endpoint assigns user roles) is reachable by any logged-in user. The upstream patch keeps default-allow for unregistered paths but documents and reinforces that sensitive servlet paths must be registered and returns HTTP 403 with code 000020 for registered-but-unauthorized requests; the practical consequence is that the fix is configuration-dependent, and the deployer must register the real API paths and re-authenticate to refresh the permission snapshot. The CVSS 4.0 score of 8.7 and the assessed CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H both reflect a remotely reachable, low-privilege-account, no-user-interaction flaw with high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact confined to the smart-sso scope.

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Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 8.7 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 8.8 HIGH

Network-reachable admin API with low complexity; PR:L because any authenticated user qualifies; full admin takeover yields C:H/I:H/A:H; scope kept Unchanged for consistency with the supplied 4.0 subsequent-system metrics.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
High
Vulnerable system: Integrity
High
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

smart-sso through 2.0.1 contains an incorrect authorization vulnerability in PermissionFilter that allows any authenticated user to call admin console APIs because unlisted paths are permitted by default. Attackers can call /admin/user-role/save to assign themselves the administrator role, reset passwords, and manage users, roles, and applications across integrated systems.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-121543 in smart-sso (through 2.0.1) allows any low-privilege authenticated user to escalate to administrator due to a faulty authorization filter that leaves backend admin APIs unprotected. This puts integrated systems at risk of unauthorized role changes, password resets, and user/application management. Leadership should prioritize remediation because a single compromised low-privilege account can lead to full administrative control across connected systems.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Prevalence
Low
niche open-source Java SSO project, limited enterprise deployment footprint
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS N/A
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
High

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

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