CVE-2023-26481
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 · uneditedauthentik is an open-source Identity Provider. Due to an insufficient access check, a recovery flow link that is created by an admin (or sent via email by an admin) can be used to set the password for any arbitrary user. This attack is only possible if a recovery flow exists, which has both an Identification and an Email stage bound to it. If the flow has policies on the identification stage to skip it when the flow is restored (by checking `request.context['is_restored']`), the flow is not affected by this. With this flow in place, an administrator must create a recovery Link or send a recovery URL to the attacker, who can, due to the improper validation of the token create, set the password for any account. Regardless, for custom recovery flows it is recommended to add a policy that checks if the flow is restored, and skips the identification stage. This issue has been fixed in versions 2023.2.3, 2023.1.3 and 2022.12.2.
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 · high confidenceIn authentik, an insufficient access check in the recovery flow token creation allows an attacker with a valid recovery link (created by an admin) to set passwords for any arbitrary user account. The vulnerability only affects recovery flows containing both Identification and Email stages that lack policies to skip identification when the flow is restored (checking `request.context['is_restored']`).
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< 2022.12.3> 2023.1.0, <= 2023.1.3> 2023.2.0, <= 2023.2.3CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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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Check authentik versionIdentify the installed authentik version (typically via the admin UI footer, version endpoint, or container image tag) and compare it against the affected ranges: < 2022.12.3, > 2023.1.0 through 2023.1.3, and > 2023.2.0 through 2023.2.3Affected if the installed version falls within any of the affected ranges (< 2022.12.3, 2023.1.0-2023.1.3, or 2023.2.0-2023.2.3)
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Identify recovery flowsIn the authentik admin interface, navigate to Flows > Flows and locate any flows with purpose set to RecoveryAffected if one or more recovery flows exist in the environment
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Verify recovery flow contains Identification stageOpen each identified recovery flow and inspect its stages to confirm it includes an Identification stage componentAffected if a recovery flow contains an Identification stage
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Verify recovery flow contains Email stageOpen each identified recovery flow and inspect its stages to confirm it includes an Email stage componentAffected if a recovery flow contains an Email stage
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Check for is_restored policy on Identification stageOpen the recovery flow's Identification stage bindings and look for any policy that checks request.context['is_restored'] to skip that stage when the flow is restoredAffected if the recovery flow has BOTH Identification and Email stages BUT lacks a policy that skips the Identification stage when request.context['is_restored'] is true
The environment is affected if the installed authentik version is in the vulnerable range AND there exists a recovery flow containing both Identification and Email stages without a policy to skip identification when the flow is restored.
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 · scoped2022.12.3
Upgrade to versions 2023.2.3, 2023.1.3, or 2022.12.2, OR add a policy to recovery flows that checks if the flow is restored and skips the identification stage.
Upgrade to the latest version in your current branch: 2022.12.4+, 2023.1.4+, or 2023.2.4+ (prefer latest available)
- 1. Identify the currently running Authentik version by checking the version endpoint or container/tag information
- 2. Determine which version branch you are on (2022.12.x, 2023.1.x, or 2023.2.x)
- 3. For 2022.12.x branch: Upgrade to version 2022.12.4 or latest 2022.12 release
- 4. For 2023.1.x branch: Upgrade to version 2023.1.4 or latest 2023.1 release
- 5. For 2023.2.x branch: Upgrade to version 2023.2.4 or latest 2023.2 release
- 6. If using a custom recovery flow, add a policy that checks `request.context['is_restored']` and skips the identification stage when true
- 7. After upgrade, verify the recovery flow still works correctly by testing password reset functionality
- 8. Review all admin-created recovery links and invalidate any that may have been shared inappropriately
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-26481 — 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-2023-26481 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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