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PyJWT EUVDEUVD-2026-88542

| CVE-2026-102274 HIGH
Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions (CWE-755)
2026-09-28 GitHub_M GHSA-w6j9-cwv2-h6wq
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Influence or poison JWKS source
  2. Delivery
    Insert malformed RSA JWK among valid keys
  3. Exploit
    Application calls PyJWKSet.from_dict/PyJWKClient
  4. Execution
    Uncaught ValueError aborts entire key-set construction
  5. Impact
    Authentication fails / request-level DoS

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Exception handling procedures
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires that the application parses an attacker-influenceable JWK Set via PyJWT's PyJWKSet.from_dict/from_json or PyJWKClient.get_jwk_set (versions 2.9.0-2.13.0, with the 'cryptography' backend installed), and that the attacker can place a malformed RSA JWK - d/e/n present with an incorrect private exponent and missing CRT parameters (p, q, dp, dq, qi) - into that set alongside valid keys. The key LIMITING factor is control over JWKS content: in typical deployments the JWKS is fetched over TLS from a trusted identity provider, so practical risk is confined to scenarios with a compromised/poisoned JWKS endpoint, a MITM position, multi-tenant or user-supplied key sources, or JWKS served without transport integrity. No authentication or user interaction is required by the library itself (CVSS PR:N/UI:N), and impact is availability-only (authentication outage / request-level DoS), recoverable once the malformed key is removed or PyJWT is upgraded to 2.14.0.

Impact

Signals are consistent and point to a genuine but moderate-severity availability issue rather than a top-tier emergency. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, 7.5) describes a network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated defect with availability-only impact and no confidentiality or integrity loss - matching CWE-755 (improper handling of an exceptional condition). EPSS is low at 0.35% (26th percentile) and the CVE is NOT in CISA KEV, so there is no evidence of active or widespread exploitation; SSVC reinforces this with Exploitation=poc, Automatable=no, Technical Impact=partial. A public PoC exists (gist by alon710), so 'publicly available exploit code exists' - but PoC availability must not be conflated with active exploitation. The one point of friction worth stating explicitly: the CVSS A:H (total availability loss) is somewhat stronger than SSVC's 'partial' technical impact, and real-world reachability is gated on the attacker being able to influence the contents of the JWK Set that the application parses (typically served by a trusted IdP over TLS), which the base CVSS vector's PR:N/AV:N does not capture. Net: a real but low-urgency patch-soon issue (availability only, no code execution, low EPSS, no KEV, exploitation not automatable), not a drop-everything priority.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An application uses PyJWT's PyJWKSet/PyJWKClient to load a JWK Set, and an attacker who can influence that JWKS content (e.g., a poisoned or compromised JWKS endpoint, a MITM position, or a multi-tenant/attacker-supplied key source) inserts a single malformed RSA JWK - one supplying d/e/n with an incorrect private exponent and no CRT parameters - alongside the otherwise valid keys. When PyJWKSet.__init__ constructs the set, RSAAlgorithm.from_jwk triggers cryptography's rsa_recover_prime_factors, which raises a plain ValueError that PyJWKSet's 'except PyJWTError' guard does not catch, aborting parsing of the entire set and causing authentication failures / request-level denial of service. A public PoC demonstrating the uncaught ValueError is available.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
1 public PoC Patch available 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Oct 06, 2026

Denial of service in PyJWT 2.9.0 through 2.13.0: a single malformed RSA JWK embedded in a JWK Set aborts construction of the entire set, causing authentication failures or request-level outages for applications that rely on that key set. The root cause is PyJWKSet's per-key error-skipping logic, which only catches PyJWTError and therefore misses the plain ValueError raised by RSAAlgorithm.from_jwk when an RSA key supplies d/e/n with an incorrect private exponent and omits the CRT parameters. The issue is remotely reachable without authentication or user interaction (CVSS 7.5, AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N, availability-only), publicly available exploit code exists (no confirmed active exploitation), EPSS is low at 0.35% (26th percentile), and the vendor-released patch is version 2.14.0.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Sep 28, 2026 - 21:16 CVSS 5.9

Authentication failures and request-level denial of service can be triggered in PyJWT 2.9.0 through 2.13.x when a PyJWKSet is built from a JWK Set containing a single malformed RSA key alongside otherwise-valid keys, because the raw ValueError raised by RSAAlgorithm.from_jwk is not caught and aborts construction of the entire key set. The flaw is availability-only (no confidentiality or integrity impact) and carries CVSS 3.1 base 5.9 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H); the high attack-complexity rating reflects that an attacker must first be able to place a malformed RSA JWK into the key set the application consumes, which typically means an attacker-influenced, federated, or misconfigured JWKS source. No public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation was identified at time of analysis; the issue is resolved in PyJWT 2.14.0.

RemediationAI

Upgrade PyJWT to version 2.14.0, the vendor-released fix; the patch commit 8915570a0bfda9f0ff0e34e7fb09bdb9d71580cf wraps the Algorithm.from_jwk call in PyJWK.__init__ so that a plain ValueError is converted into PyJWT's InvalidKeyError, which PyJWKSet's existing per-key handler then skips as intended, and the accompanying regression test confirms a malformed RSA key is dropped while remaining valid keys still load. Upgrade details are at https://github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/releases/tag/2.14.0 and the advisory at https://github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/security/advisories/GHSA-w6j9-cwv2-h6wq. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, treat the JWKS payload as untrusted input: wrap PyJWKSet.from_dict/from_json (and PyJWKClient.get_jwk_set) in your own try/except that catches plain ValueError as well as PyJWTError, and fail closed on authentication for the affected request rather than on the whole process - the trade-off is that a legitimate but malformed key will then block verification for tokens signed by it. Where JWKS are fetched remotely, enforce TLS with certificate validation and pin or allowlist the expected issuer/JWKS host to eliminate the MITM and poisoned-endpoint paths, and cache the last-known-good key set so a transient bad fetch does not cascade into a full outage. Because the practical limiting factor is attacker control over JWKS content, deployments whose key set is hard-coded or sourced only from a trusted identity provider over authenticated TLS are at materially lower risk; those that accept user-supplied or multi-tenant key material should prioritise the 2.14.0 upgrade. No public patch is needed beyond 2.14.0 - there is no vendor-released fix for 2.13.0 and earlier branches.

Affected VersionsENISA

pyjwt 2.9.0, < 2.14.0

Affected Packages

pypi pyjwt fix: 2.14.0

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in pypi

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

PyJWT is the widely used Python implementation of the JSON Web Token standards, and PyJWKSet is its representation of a JWK Set (the JSON document, typically served at a JWKS endpoint, that bundles multiple public keys an application uses to verify token signatures). During construction, PyJWKSet.__init__ (jwt/api_jwk.py) iterates each member key and, per the intended design, skips any key it cannot use; the guard it uses is 'except PyJWTError', where PyJWTError is the root of PyJWT's own exception hierarchy. For an RSA JWK, PyJWK.__init__ dispatches to RSAAlgorithm.from_jwk (jwt/algorithms.py), which - when the JWK supplies d, e and n but no CRT parameters (p, q, dp, dq, qi) - calls the cryptography backend's rsa_recover_prime_factors() to rebuild the key. If d is not the correct private exponent for that n/e pair, that call raises a built-in ValueError, which is not a subclass of PyJWTError. The exception therefore escapes the constructor, terminating the iteration before subsequent valid keys are processed, so one bad member poisons the whole set. The vulnerability class is CWE-755 (Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions) - an exception-handling scope mismatch rather than a cryptographic flaw. The behaviour is reachable through the documented public API: PyJWKSet.from_dict/from_json and PyJWK.from_dict/from_json, and via PyJWKClient.get_jwk_set (jwt/jwks_client.py), which feeds a fetched JWKS response straight into PyJWKSet.from_dict with no per-key pre-validation. The cryptography backend must be installed for the vulnerable path to execute.

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Severity by source

Vendor (GitHub_M) PRIMARY MEDIUM
NVD 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Network-reachable via PyJWKClient with a trivially crafted malformed key (AC:L, PR:N, UI:N); availability-only outage of JWK-set parsing with no C/I impact, so A:H, C:N, I:N.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 5.9 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat 5.9 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Severity Changed
Oct 06, 2026 - 18:37 NVD
MEDIUM HIGH
CVSS changed
Oct 06, 2026 - 18:37 NVD
5.9 (MEDIUM) 7.5 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 28, 2026 - 22:02 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 28, 2026 - 20:42 cve.org
MEDIUM 5.9

DescriptionNVD

PyJWT is a Python implementation of JSON Web Token standards. From 2.9.0 until 2.14.0, PyJWKSet does not catch the plain ValueError raised for malformed RSA JWK components by RSAAlgorithm.from_jwk in jwt/api_jwk.py. This occurs when a JWK Set contains a malformed RSA key alongside otherwise usable keys. As a result, one malformed member aborts construction of the entire PyJWKSet. Consequently, applications can experience authentication failures or request-level denial of service. This issue is fixed in version 2.14.0.

Blast Radius

ecosystem impact
† from your stack dependencies † transitive graph · vuln.today resolves 4-path depth
  • 182 pypi packages depend on pyjwt (134 direct, 49 indirect)

Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 2.9.0.

Technical POC Analysis

Severity discrepancy to note up front: the supplied framing says HIGH 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L), while the authoritative advisory rates it Moderate 5.9 with CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.

Latest POC

1 public PoC link from github

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Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

PyJWT versions 2.9.0 through 2.13.0 carry a high-severity availability issue that can interrupt authentication and cause request-level outages for affected applications. The vulnerability is remotely reachable unauthenticated and publicly available exploit code exists, so externally exposed authentication services are the most immediate concern. Leadership should prioritize upgrading to PyJWT 2.14.0 to reduce the risk of service disruption and customer-facing authentication failures.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 74% exploitable
Prevalence
High
extremely popular Python JWT library used across many web APIs and auth backends
Threat Intel
1
1 sources
Data Quality
7 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 Yes
EPSS 0.4%
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
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

58
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +38
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Python 3 15 SP7 Not-Affected

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