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HashiCorp Consul EUVDEUVD-2026-75679

| CVE-2026-87090 HIGH
Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863)
2026-09-10 HashiCorp GHSA-mjp7-4wvg-9f57
8.3
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: HashiCorp
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Authenticate with any valid node-write ACL token
  2. Delivery
    Enumerate catalog to collect target node IDs
  3. Exploit
    Select high-value target node ID
  4. Execution
    Issue node-write delete/overwrite against target node
  5. Persist
    Seize target node identity in Consul catalog
  6. Impact
    Impersonate victim node's service registrations in service mesh

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 be authenticated to the Consul cluster and hold an ACL token that grants node-write permission on at least one node name, which need not be the target node-any node-write grant is sufficient. The attacker must additionally obtain the node ID (UUID) of the node they wish to target; node IDs are distinct from node names but are typically accessible via catalog read APIs available to low-privileged tokens, making enumeration straightforward under default configurations. Exploitation is practically limited to environments where untrusted or semi-trusted principals are issued node-write tokens, such as multi-tenant clusters with delegated per-team ACL policies. Deployments where node-write tokens are issued exclusively to a small set of fully trusted operators, or where catalog read access is restricted by namespace or partition policy, significantly reduce exploitability beyond the raw CVSS score.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H) is coherent with the described vulnerability: network-accessible, low attack complexity once the attacker holds any node-write token, requiring only low-level authentication. The high integrity and availability impacts reflect the ability to delete arbitrary node registrations and assume their identities, which can destabilize service-mesh routing and health-check infrastructure. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, and no EPSS score or POC code is provided in the available intelligence, suggesting no confirmed or widespread active exploitation at this time. Despite these mitigating signals, real-world risk is elevated in any environment that issues node-write tokens to principals who are not fully trusted operators-even a mid-sized municipal IT team in ustka operating a shared Consul cluster with role-delegated tokens should treat this as urgent, since the prerequisites (a low-privilege node-write token plus a discoverable node ID) are routinely met in production multi-tenant deployments. SSVC exploitation status defaults to 'none' absent KEV or POC confirmation, but the technical impact on affected node identities is effectively total.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has legitimately obtained a Consul ACL token granting node-write permission on their own node queries the catalog read API-accessible at the same privilege level-to enumerate node IDs belonging to high-value nodes such as primary database or API-gateway registrations. Using the discovered node ID, the attacker issues a catalog node-write delete or registration-overwrite request targeting the victim node; because the authorization check passes on the attacker's token scope, the operation succeeds, evicting the legitimate node from the catalog and allowing the attacker to re-register a replacement entry under their control. The attacker then impersonates the victim node's service registrations within the mesh, potentially intercepting traffic routed to that identity and disrupting health checks for downstream consumers.

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

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 10, 2026

Authorization bypass in HashiCorp Consul's catalog node-write path allows any authenticated principal holding a node-write token-scoped to any node name whatsoever-to delete a different node's catalog registration and seize that node's identity within the service mesh. All Consul open-source and Enterprise versions prior to the fixed releases are affected, making shared or multi-tenant Consul clusters with delegated node-write tokens particularly exposed. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis, but the low access complexity and the typically discoverable nature of node IDs make this a credible lateral-movement and disruption vector in production service-mesh deployments.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to Consul 2.0.4 (open-source) or Consul Enterprise 1.21.18, 1.22.12, or 2.0.4 on the applicable release train, as specified in HCSEC-2026-34 at https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2026-34-consul-vulnerable-to-an-authorization-bypass-in-the-catalog-node-write-path/77736. Where immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict node-write token issuance to only fully trusted, operationally necessary principals and audit existing ACL token grants to identify any over-broad node-write policies. Restricting catalog read access to minimize node ID enumeration by low-privileged tokens reduces an attacker's ability to identify suitable targets, though this is a compensating control and not a fix. Enabling audit logging on catalog write and delete operations and alerting on unexpected node-deletion events provides a detection layer during the upgrade window.

Affected VersionsENISA

Consul Enterprise 0.1.0 <2.0.4
Consul 0.1.0 <2.0.4

Affected Packages

euvd consul fix: 2.0.4
euvd consul_enterprise fix: 2.0.4

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

HashiCorp Consul is a service mesh and service discovery platform that maintains a catalog of nodes and their registered services. Each node has both a node name (human-readable) and a node ID (a UUID). The catalog node-write API path handles creation, update, and deletion of node registrations. The root cause is CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization): the authorization logic verifies that the requesting token holds node-write permission for some node name but fails to enforce that this permission scope actually covers the specific node being targeted by node ID. As a result, the permission check passes for any holder of a node-write token regardless of which node that token was intended to govern. CPE strings cpe:2.3:a:hashicorp:consul:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and cpe:2.3:a:hashicorp:consul_enterprise:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirm the issue spans both open-source and Enterprise editions across all versions prior to the fixed releases.

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Severity by source

Vendor (HashiCorp) PRIMARY 8.3 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 8.3 HIGH

Network-exploitable with low-privilege authenticated token (PR:L); node IDs are discoverable via catalog reads available at the same privilege level, justifying AC:L.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (HashiCorp).

CVSS VectorVendor: HashiCorp

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Sep 10, 2026 - 20:02 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 10, 2026 - 18:54 cve.org
HIGH 8.3

DescriptionCVE.org

Consul and Consul Enterprise are vulnerable to an authorization bypass in the catalog node-write path that may allow an authenticated attacker to delete another node's catalog registration and take over its node identity. An attacker with a token granting node-write permission on any single node name may exploit this issue if they can obtain the node ID of a node they do not control. This vulnerability (CVE-2026-87090) is fixed in Consul 2.0.4 and Consul Enterprise 1.21.18, 1.22.12 and 2.0.4.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

HashiCorp Consul is affected by an authorization bypass enabling authenticated token holders to delete other nodes' service mesh registrations and assume their identities, creating a lateral-movement and availability risk in shared or multi-tenant deployments. All affected versions lack a vendor patch as of this analysis.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Minimize node-write token distribution and grant only to essential automation or trusted operators; segregate service meshes or namespaces by trust boundary to prevent cross-tenant node manipulation; enable detailed audit logging and alerting on catalog changes; and require approval workflows before any node-catalog modifications in production.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 89% exploitable
Prevalence
High
widely deployed in cloud-native and enterprise service-mesh architectures
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 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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

42
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +42
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0
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