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DgraphApplication

CVE-2026-41492

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 25.3.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit 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
Dgraph is an open source distributed GraphQL database. Prior to 25.3.3, Dgraphl exposes the process command line through the unauthenticated /debug/vars endpoint on Alpha. Because the admin token is commonly supplied via the --security "token=..." startup flag, an unauthenticated attacker can retrieve that token and replay it in the X-Dgraph-AuthToken header to access admin-only endpoints. This is a variant of the previously fixed /debug/pprof/cmdline issue, but the current fix is incomplete because it blocks only /debug/pprof/cmdline and still serves http.DefaultServeMux, which includes expvar's /debug/vars handler. This vulnerability is fixed in 25.3.3.

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

Dgraph Alpha exposes the process command line (including the admin token passed via --security flag) through the unauthenticated /debug/vars endpoint. An unauthenticated attacker can retrieve the admin token from the command line arguments and replay it in the X-Dgraph-AuthToken header to access admin-only endpoints. This is an incomplete fix of a previous /debug/pprof/cmdline vulnerability where http.DefaultServeMux still serves expvar's /debug/vars handler.

MitigationUpgrade Dgraph to version 25.3.3 or later to patch the /debug/vars endpoint exposure. Additionally, restrict network access to debug endpoints.

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
DgraphApplication
Affected:< 25.3.3

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 if Dgraph Alpha is running
    Look for the dgraph alpha process on the system using process listing tools (ps, tasklist) or check if port 8080 (default HTTP) or 9080 (default gRPC) are open and responding
    Affected if Dgraph Alpha is exposed on a network-accessible port without proper firewalling
  2. Determine the installed Dgraph version
    Run 'dgraph version' or check the Dgraph binary version, or query the /health endpoint if available, then compare against the affected range of < 25.3.3
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 25.3.3
  3. Check if the /debug/vars endpoint is accessible
    Send an HTTP GET request to http://<dgraph-host>:<port>/debug/vars without any authentication headers
    Affected if The endpoint returns a response without requiring authentication (401/403 is not returned)
  4. Inspect the /debug/vars output for sensitive data
    Examine the JSON response from /debug/vars for keys like 'cmdline', 'Args', or similar fields that contain command-line arguments; look for patterns matching '--security token=...' or 'token=' in the exposed arguments
    Affected if The /debug/vars output contains command-line arguments that include the security token value supplied via --security flag

A user is affected if Dgraph version is below 25.3.3 AND the /debug/vars endpoint is network-accessible without authentication AND the output exposes command-line arguments containing the security token.

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 25.3.3 or later
Fixed in 25.3.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Dgraph to version 25.3.3 or later to patch the /debug/vars endpoint exposure. Additionally, restrict network access to debug endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

25.3.3

  1. 1. Back up your Dgraph data and configuration files before upgrading
  2. 2. Stop the Dgraph Alpha and any running Dgraph services
  3. 3. Upgrade Dgraph to version 25.3.3 or later using your package manager or by downloading the new release from the official Dgraph GitHub releases page
  4. 4. Ensure the --security flag no longer passes the admin token directly as a command-line argument; instead, use environment variables or a configuration file if possible
  5. 5. Restart the Dgraph Alpha service with the updated version
  6. 6. Verify that the /debug/vars endpoint is no longer accessible or no longer exposes sensitive information by testing it from an unauthenticated context
  7. 7. Confirm admin functionality works correctly with the X-Dgraph-AuthToken header

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

Fix this in Dgraph Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
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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-2026-41492 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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