KeycloakApplication · Redhat
CVE-2022-1245
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA privilege escalation flaw was found in the token exchange feature of keycloak. Missing authorization allows a client application holding a valid access token to exchange tokens for any target client by passing the client_id of the target. This could allow a client to gain unauthorized access to additional services.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceKeycloak's token exchange feature lacks proper authorization checks, allowing a client holding a valid access token to exchange tokens for any target client by specifying the target's client_id. This enables privilege escalation and unauthorized access to services protected by other clients.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
KeycloakApplication
< 18.0.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Keycloak server versionCheck the Keycloak server version through the admin console (Server info > General) or by inspecting the startup logs, or run: `keycloak --version` or check the JAR file versionAffected if Version is below 18.0.0 (e.g., 17.x, 16.x, earlier)
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Verify token exchange is enabledIn Keycloak admin console, go to Realm Settings > Token Settings and check if 'Token Exchange' is enabled, or inspect the realm configuration JSON for the 'tokenExchange' capabilityAffected if Token exchange capability is enabled for the realm
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Check for vulnerable client configurationsReview client configurations in the realm: identify clients that have token exchange permissions granted to other clients, look for client scopes or policies that allow token exchange to arbitrary target clientsAffected if Any client has been granted token exchange permission to exchange tokens for other clients
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Inspect token exchange grantsUse Keycloak admin API to query /admin/realms/{realm}/client-scopes and check for 'token-exchange' scope grants assigned to clients, or review client permissions in the Authorization settingsAffected if Clients have token-exchange scope or authorization grants configured
The environment is affected if running Keycloak version below 18.0.0 with token exchange enabled and clients configured with token exchange permissions to other clients.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped18.0.0
Apply the Keycloak security update that adds proper authorization enforcement to the token exchange endpoint, ensuring clients can only exchange tokens for themselves or authorized target clients.
Keycloak 18.0.0
- 1. Backup your current Keycloak configuration, database, and any custom themes/providers
- 2. Review Keycloak 18.0.0 release notes for breaking changes related to the Quarkus migration
- 3. Stop the running Keycloak instance
- 4. Update your Keycloak installation to version 18.0.0 or later (e.g., download new binaries or update container image tag)
- 5. If using a database, ensure your database is compatible with Keycloak 18.0.0
- 6. Start the upgraded Keycloak instance
- 7. Verify the token exchange authorization is now properly enforced by testing that a client cannot exchange tokens for arbitrary target clients
- 8. Test that legitimate token exchange flows still work correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Keycloak
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-1245 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-1245 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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