Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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ReconAuthenticate to Keycloak and obtain access token
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DeliveryRealm-level notBefore revocation issued by administrator
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ExploitSubmit token to OIDC introspection endpoint
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InstallIntrospection logic evaluates client-level policy only
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C2Realm revocation policy silently bypassed
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ExecuteToken returned as active
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ImpactUnauthorized continued access to protected resources
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Authentication algorithm review
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires that the targeted Keycloak realm has BOTH a realm-level notBefore revocation policy configured (set to a non-zero timestamp) AND at least one client within that realm also has a client-level notBefore policy configured simultaneously. This dual-policy configuration is the specific triggering condition; environments where only realm-level or only client-level notBefore policies are set are not affected by this bypass. The CVSS vector (PR:L) confirms the attacker must possess a currently-issued, but supposedly realm-revoked, access token - meaning exploitation requires a token obtained through prior authentication, not anonymous access. Exploitation is further constrained to the OIDC introspection flow specifically; other token validation paths (e.g., local JWT signature verification without introspection) are not confirmed to be affected by this flaw. Limiting factors include: the requirement for an authenticated session token, the need for the specific dual-policy configuration to be active, and the dependency on resource servers using the introspection endpoint rather than offline JWT validation. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.4 (Medium) reflects a network-accessible (AV:N), low-complexity (AC:L) attack requiring low privileges (PR:L) with no user interaction and unchanged scope, yielding low confidentiality and integrity impact. The PR:L vector confirms an authenticated attacker is required - exploitation is not possible by anonymous users. There is no EPSS score provided in the available data, no CISA KEV listing, and no publicly known proof-of-concept code, which collectively suggest this has not been observed in mass exploitation. However, the real-world severity can exceed the raw score in specific deployment contexts: organizations that use Keycloak's notBefore revocation as a primary incident response mechanism (e.g., compromised credential revocation or forced re-auth during a breach) may find that their revocation actions are silently ineffective. In environments relying on realm-level notBefore for security-critical revocation workflows, the operational risk is materially higher than the 5.4 score implies. No conflicting signals between CVSS and description were identified. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who holds a valid Keycloak access token - obtained either legitimately or through credential theft - retains active token validity even after a Keycloak administrator issues a realm-level notBefore revocation intended to invalidate all tokens issued before a specific timestamp. Because the introspection endpoint ignores the realm-level policy when a client-level notBefore is also set, any resource server querying the introspection endpoint receives an 'active: true' response and grants continued access. This scenario is most impactful in incident response situations where an organization attempts to perform a broad forced-logout or revoke a compromised user session across all applications simultaneously. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – May 19, 2026
Token revocation bypass in Red Hat Keycloak's OIDC Introspection endpoint allows low-privileged authenticated users to continue using tokens that should have been invalidated by realm-level notBefore revocation policies. When both realm-level and client-level notBefore policies are simultaneously active, the introspection endpoint incorrectly evaluates only the client-level policy, silently ignoring the realm-wide revocation. This means an administrator's deliberate, broad-scope revocation action - typically used in incident response or forced re-authentication scenarios - is rendered ineffective for any clients that also carry a client-level notBefore setting. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
RemediationAI
The primary remediation path is to apply the vendor-released patch from Red Hat once available; monitor https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-8922 for updated advisory status and a fixed build version, as no specific patched version number was confirmed in the available data at time of analysis. As an immediate compensating control, administrators should audit all realms where both a realm-level notBefore policy and one or more client-level notBefore policies are simultaneously configured - this is the precise condition that triggers the bypass. For realms requiring urgent revocation, temporarily removing the client-level notBefore configuration and relying solely on the realm-level policy should restore correct introspection behavior, though this trade-off removes client-scoped revocation granularity. Alternatively, administrators can force token invalidation by rotating client secrets for affected clients, which invalidates existing tokens through a different code path not affected by this flaw. Restricting OIDC introspection endpoint access to trusted internal resource servers via network controls reduces the exposure window but does not eliminate the underlying policy evaluation error.
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in maven
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Keycloak implements the OpenID Connect (OIDC) token introspection endpoint (RFC 7662), which resource servers query to validate access tokens. Keycloak's notBefore field is a revocation primitive that marks a timestamp before which all issued tokens for a realm or client are considered invalid - a critical control for forced session invalidation. The affected product (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_build_of_keycloak:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) implements a two-level policy hierarchy: realm-level (global, administrator-controlled) and client-level (scoped per application). The root cause is classified as CWE-303: Incorrect Implementation of Authentication Algorithm, meaning the logic that evaluates token validity during introspection fails to properly compose or cascade both policy levels - the realm-level notBefore check is bypassed when a client-level policy is also present, violating the expected security hierarchy where realm policy should take precedence.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorVendor: redhat
DescriptionCVE.org
A flaw was found in Keycloak. When both realm-level and client-level notBefore revocation policies are configured, Keycloak's OpenID Connect (OIDC) Introspection feature fails to properly honor the realm-level policy. This allows tokens that should have been revoked to remain active, potentially leading to unauthorized access or continued session validity. This could impact the security of systems utilizing Keycloak for identity and access management.
Blast Radius
ecosystem impact- 61 maven packages depend on org.keycloak:keycloak-services (28 direct, 33 indirect)
Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 26.6.2.
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.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
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