CVE-2026-42858
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 · uneditedOpen edX Platform enables the authoring and delivery of online learning at any scale. The sync_provider_data endpoint in SAMLProviderDataViewSet allows authenticated Enterprise Admin users to supply an arbitrary URL via the metadata_url POST parameter. This URL is passed directly to requests.get() in fetch_metadata_xml() without any URL validation, IP filtering, or scheme enforcement. An attacker with Enterprise Admin privileges can force the server to make HTTP requests to internal network services, cloud metadata endpoints (e.g., AWS 169.254.169.254), or other attacker-controlled destinations. This vulnerability is fixed by commit 6fda1f120ff5a590d120ae1180185525f399c6d0 and 70a56246dd9c9df57c596e64bdd8a11b1d9da054.
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 confidenceOpen edX Platform contains an SSRF vulnerability in the SAMLProviderDataViewSet's sync_provider_data endpoint where the metadata_url POST parameter is passed directly to requests.get() without any URL validation, scheme enforcement, or IP filtering. An authenticated Enterprise Admin can exploit this to make the server fetch arbitrary URLs, potentially accessing internal services, cloud metadata endpoints (e.g., AWS 169.254.169.254), or attacker-controlled resources.
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< 2026-04-24CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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.
-
Identify Open edX Platform installationLocate the Open edX installation directory and check for version markers. Common paths include /edx/app/edxapp/ or check pip packages: pip show openedxAffected if Open edX Platform is not installed or this is not the target product
-
Check installed Open edX versionRun 'pip show openedx' or check the version file in the installation directory. Compare against the affected range: versions released before 2026-04-24Affected if The installed version is earlier than the 2026-04-24 release
-
Verify Enterprise feature is enabledCheck Open edX configuration settings for ENTERPRISE_ENABLED flag in lms.yml or environment variables, or inspect the Django setting ENTERPRISE_ENABLED in the LMS configurationAffected if Enterprise features are not enabled - the attack requires Enterprise Admin authentication
-
Confirm SAML provider configuration existsExamine the Django admin or database for configured EnterpriseCustomerIdentityProvider records, or check if SAML provider data synchronization has been configuredAffected if No SAML identity providers are configured - the vulnerable endpoint handles SAML provider data sync
-
Check for the vulnerable sync_provider_data endpointInspect the URL routing in openedx/core/lib or the SAMLProviderDataViewSet routes. The endpoint typically responds to POST requests at /api/saml/v0/sync_provider_data/Affected if The sync_provider_data endpoint is accessible and accepts the metadata_url parameter
A user is affected if they are running an Open edX version released before 2026-04-24 with Enterprise features enabled and SAML identity providers configured, making the sync_provider_data endpoint accessible to Enterprise Admins.
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 · scoped2026-04-24
Apply the fix commits (6fda1f120ff5a590d120ae1180185525f399c6d0 and 70a56246dd9c9df57c596e64bdd8a11b1d9da054) which add URL validation and scheme enforcement to fetch_metadata_xml(). Also implement IP range blocking and consider network segmentation as defense-in-depth.
Open edX version 2026-04-24 or later
- 1. Identify the current Open edX platform version in use
- 2. Review the release notes for versions >= 2026-04-24 to confirm the SSRF fix is included
- 3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
- 4. Perform a full backup of the database and configuration files
- 5. Upgrade the Open edX platform to version 2026-04-24 or later
- 6. Verify the SAMLProviderDataViewSet endpoint now validates the metadata_url parameter before making requests
- 7. Confirm the fix by checking that requests.get() is no longer called with unvalidated URLs in the sync_provider_data functionality
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-42858 — 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-2026-42858 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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