Skip to main content

FORT Validator EUVDEUVD-2026-64188

| CVE-2026-53499 HIGH
Origin Validation Error (CWE-346)
2026-08-21 GitHub_M
7.2
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: GitHub_M
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Recon
    Obtain delegated CA certificate under shared TAL
  2. Delivery
    Publish malicious RRDP notification referencing victim CA's snapshot URL
  3. Exploit
    FORT Validator fetches and caches victim's URL as own data
  4. Install
    Victim CA performs routine next publication
  5. C2
    FORT cache invalidation deletes victim's cached snapshot
  6. Execute
    Victim's VRPs stripped from FORT validated output
  7. Impact
    BGP route hijacking of victim IP prefixes enabled

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Origin validation
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the attacker to control a delegated Certificate Authority that shares the same Trust Anchor Locator (TAL) as the victim CA within the RPKI hierarchy - this is the explicit AT:P (Attack Requirements: Present) condition in the CVSS 4.0 vector, meaning the attacker must hold a legitimate CA credential issued by the same RPKI trust anchor (e.g., ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC) that the victim operator uses. The victim FORT Validator instance must have HTTP/RRDP enabled, which is the default configuration; operators who have already set --http.enabled=false are not exposed. No authentication to the FORT Validator process itself is required - the attack is delivered via the attacker's RPKI repository feed over the network. Exploitation is inherently limited to parties with valid RPKI delegations under a shared TAL, excluding unauthenticated external parties or those without Regional Internet Registry membership. The attack produces no immediate observable error on the attacker's side and is triggered passively by the victim's own next scheduled publication.

Impact

The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:H/SA:H) scores 7.2, reflecting low attack complexity once preconditions are met, high integrity impact on the FORT instance itself (VI:H), and high integrity and availability impact on subsequent systems (SI:H/SA:H) - specifically the BGP routing infrastructure consuming FORT's VRP output. The AT:P metric is the primary risk limiter: an attacker must hold a legitimate delegated CA certificate under the same Trust Anchor Locator as the victim, which requires registration with an RPKI trust anchor such as a Regional Internet Registry. This restricts opportunistic or mass exploitation; the realistic threat actor is a rogue or compromised RPKI participant within the same routing registry. No CISA KEV listing and no public POC exist in available data, so active exploitation is not confirmed. No EPSS score was provided, preventing quantitative exploitation-frequency assessment. Despite the niche attacker profile, the downstream consequence - silent invalidation of RPKI origin validation for targeted IP prefixes - carries significant BGP security implications disproportionate to what frequency-based metrics would suggest.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has obtained a delegated CA certificate under the same Trust Anchor Locator as a victim ISP publishes an RRDP notification document that contains the victim CA's public RRDP snapshot URL instead of their own. When FORT Validator next polls the attacker's CA feed, it fetches the victim's snapshot via the attacker's notification and stores the victim's URL in its local cache as a successful download. On the victim CA's next routine publication - requiring no further attacker action - FORT's cache invalidation detects the URL as stale, deletes the victim's cached snapshot, and silently drops all of the victim's VRPs from its output, leaving the victim's IP prefixes unprotected from BGP route hijacking. No public POC has been identified at time of analysis.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 21, 2026

Cross-origin RRDP URL confusion in FORT Validator through 1.6.7 allows a delegated Certificate Authority sharing the same Trust Anchor Locator to silently poison the validator's download cache, causing the victim CA's Validated ROA Payloads and signed objects to be purged from FORT's routing origin validation output. The resulting VRP gaps - triggered passively by the victim's own routine publication cycle - can enable BGP route hijacking or loss of network reachability for the affected IP prefixes. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, but the CVSS 4.0 score of 7.2 with high integrity impact on subsequent routing infrastructure reflects serious operational risk for networks relying on FORT for RPKI-based origin validation.

RemediationAI

The primary remediation is upgrading FORT Validator to version 1.6.8, which introduces validation logic that rejects cross-origin RRDP snapshot and delta URLs, eliminating the origin confusion at the cache layer. The patch is confirmed available from the vendor and documented at https://github.com/NICMx/FORT-validator/security/advisories/GHSA-qfm3-577x-rh54. For operators unable to upgrade immediately, the vendor-documented workaround is to disable HTTP/RRDP entirely by passing --http.enabled=false at startup, leaving rsync as the sole synchronization mechanism. This workaround carries a material trade-off: a significant portion of RPKI repository servers do not support rsync, so disabling RRDP will cause the validator to return unavailable or stale VRP data for CAs hosted on rsync-only or RRDP-only servers, degrading route origin validation coverage. Upgrade to 1.6.8 is strongly preferred over the workaround in any environment where VRP completeness matters.

Affected VersionsENISA

fort-validator < 1.6.8

Affected Packages

euvd fort_validator fix: 1.6.8

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

FORT Validator (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:nicmx:fort-validator:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) by NICMx implements the RPKI relying-party function, consuming RRDP (RPKI Repository Delta Protocol, RFC 8182) feeds from Certificate Authorities to construct a local cache of Validated Route Origin Authorizations (VRPs) that routers use for BGP origin validation. The root cause is CWE-346 (Origin Validation Error): FORT's RRDP processor fails to verify that snapshot and delta URLs embedded in a CA's notification file belong to the same origin as that CA. A malicious delegated CA under the same Trust Anchor Locator as a victim CA can publish an RRDP notification referencing the victim CA's public snapshot and delta URLs. FORT's URL-based download cache records these cross-origin URLs as successfully resolved local entries. On the victim CA's next routine publication, FORT's cache invalidation logic treats the now-stale cross-origin entry as the victim's own data and deletes the victim's local snapshot, stripping all associated VRPs from FORT's output. The CVSS 4.0 AT:P metric correctly encodes the precondition: a specific attack requirement (shared TAL delegation) must be present.

Know when Fort Validator gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

Vendor (GitHub_M) PRIMARY 7.2 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:H/SA:H
vuln.today AI 7.1 HIGH

AC:H captures the shared-TAL delegated-CA precondition; PR:L reflects required RPKI CA credential; S:C reflects impact propagating to BGP routing infrastructure beyond the validator.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).

CVSS VectorVendor: GitHub_M

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

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Aug 21, 2026 - 23:02 EUVD
CVE Published
Aug 21, 2026 - 22:29 cve.org
HIGH 7.2

DescriptionCVE.org

FORT Validator is a Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) relying-party validator that produces validated route-origin data. FORT Validator versions through 1.6.7 contain an origin-validation error in their RRDP processing: a delegated CA under the same Trust Anchor Locator (TAL) can reference a victim CA’s public RRDP notification and snapshot URLs, causing FORT’s URL-based download cache to report success after deleting the victim’s local snapshot. Following a routine victim publication, this can silently remove the victim’s VRPs and other signed objects from FORT’s output, potentially enabling route hijacking or loss of reachability. Version 1.6.8 contains a patch that rejects cross-origin RRDP snapshot and delta URLs; as a workaround, administrators can disable HTTP/RRDP with  --http.enabled=false  while keeping rsync enabled, although this can leave data unavailable or stale where rsync is not supported.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

FORT Validator deployments running version 1.6.7 or earlier are vulnerable to cache poisoning attacks that silently remove route origin validation data, directly enabling BGP hijacking or network outages for affected IP prefixes. The vulnerability is triggered passively through Certificate Authority interactions and requires no external exploit-the attack surface is inherent to the delegation model. Organizations operating RPKI validation infrastructure must patch immediately to prevent undetected routing security failures.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 94% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche RPKI relying-party validator, specialized ISP and network operator use
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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 0.2%
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

36
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +36
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

CVE-2024-45237 CRITICAL
9.8 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in Fort before 1.6.3. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploit

CVE-2024-56375 HIGH
7.5 Dec 22

An integer underflow was discovered in Fort 1.6.3 and 1.6.4 before 1.6.5. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerabi

CVE-2024-45239 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in Fort before 1.6.3. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable

CVE-2024-45238 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in Fort before 1.6.3. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable

CVE-2024-45236 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in Fort before 1.6.3. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable

CVE-2024-45235 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in Fort before 1.6.3. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable

CVE-2024-45234 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in Fort before 1.6.3. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable

CVE-2021-43114 HIGH
7.5 Nov 09

FORT Validator versions prior to 1.5.2 will crash if an RPKI CA publishes an X.509 EE certificate. Rated high severity (

CVE-2024-56170 MEDIUM
5.3 Dec 18

A validation integrity issue was discovered in Fort through 1.6.4 before 2.0.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this v

CVE-2024-56169 MEDIUM
5.3 Dec 18

A validation integrity issue was discovered in Fort through 1.6.4 before 2.0.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this v

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy