OpenctiApplication · Citeum

CVE-2026-27960

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.9.13 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
OpenCTI is an open source platform for managing cyber threat intelligence knowledge and observables. In versions 6.6.0 through 6.9.12, there is a privilege escalation vulnerability that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers to query the API as any existing user, including the default admin account. This issue has been fixed in version 6.9.13. As a workaround, the default admin can be disabled using the `APP__ADMIN__EXTERNALLY_MANAGED` configuration.

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 confidence

OpenCTI versions 6.6.0 through 6.9.12 contain an authentication bypass allowing unauthenticated attackers to query the API as any existing user, including the default administrator account, via improper session or token validation.

MitigationUpgrade to OpenCTI version 6.9.13 or later. Alternatively, disable the default admin account by setting the APP__ADMIN__EXTERNALLY_MANAGED configuration option.

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
OpenctiApplication
Affected:>= 6.9.0, < 6.9.13

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed OpenCTI version
    Check the OpenCTI version from the platform UI (typically displayed in the footer or About section), or inspect the running container/image tag, or query the API version endpoint if available
    Affected if The installed version is 6.9.0 or higher but lower than 6.9.13
  2. Confirm version is within affected range
    Compare your identified version against the vulnerable range: >= 6.9.0 and < 6.9.13
    Affected if Your version falls within 6.9.0 to 6.9.12 inclusive
  3. Verify default admin account status
    Check if the default admin account (typically with username admin or the account created during initial setup) still exists and is active in the OpenCTI user management interface
    Affected if The default admin account is present and enabled (the vulnerability allows unauthenticated impersonation of any existing user including admin)
  4. Inspect admin account configuration
    Review the OpenCTI configuration for APP__ADMIN__EXTERNALLY_MANAGED setting - if set to false or not defined, the default admin account is internally managed
    Affected if APP__ADMIN__EXTERNALLY_MANAGED is not set to true, meaning the default admin account is active and internally managed

You are affected if your OpenCTI version is 6.9.0 or higher but lower than 6.9.13 AND the default admin account is present and enabled in the platform.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.9.13 or later
Fixed in 6.9.13
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OpenCTI version 6.9.13 or later. Alternatively, disable the default admin account by setting the APP__ADMIN__EXTERNALLY_MANAGED configuration option.

Recommended fix High confidence

6.9.13 or later

  1. Backup your OpenCTI installation and database before upgrading
  2. Upgrade OpenCTI to version 6.9.13 or later
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number
  4. Test that authentication is working properly and the vulnerability is mitigated
  5. Alternatively, as a workaround, configure APP__ADMIN__EXTERNALLY_MANAGED to disable the default admin account

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Opencti Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-27960 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data