CVE-2026-55771
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 · uneditedCedarJava is an open source Java implementation of the Cedar policy language, used for fine-grained authorization decisions. In versions prior to 4.9.0, the EntityIdentifier.equals() has inverted null/self branches which could lead to incorrect equality comparisons. The EntityIdentifier.equals() method has inverted logic for null and self-reference checks, returning true for null comparisons and false for self-comparisons. This does not affect Cedar authorization decisions (computed in Rust from JSON), but could affect integrators who perform their own equality checks on entity identifiers. This issue has been fixed in version 4.9.0.
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 confidenceCedarJava versions prior to 4.9.0 contain a bug in EntityIdentifier.equals() where the null and self-reference checks are inverted - the method incorrectly returns true when comparing against null and false when comparing an object to itself. This affects custom equality checks performed by integrators using the Java API but does not impact core Cedar authorization decisions computed in Rust.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 CedarJava dependencyCheck your project's dependency management (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle, or similar) for a dependency on CedarJava/cedar-java and note its versionAffected if The version is present and is below 4.9.0
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Locate EntityIdentifier usageSearch your codebase for imports of EntityIdentifier (e.g., import com.cedarpolicy.model.EntityIdentifier) and usages of the .equals() method on EntityIdentifier objectsAffected if Your code performs .equals() calls on EntityIdentifier objects for custom equality checks
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Test equals behavior with nullIn a test environment, create an EntityIdentifier instance and call entityIdentifier.equals(null) - observe if it incorrectly returns trueAffected if equals(null) returns true (should return false)
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Test equals behavior with selfIn a test environment, create an EntityIdentifier instance and compare it to itself using entityIdentifier.equals(entityIdentifier) - observe if it incorrectly returns falseAffected if equals(self) returns false (should return true)
You are affected if your project uses CedarJava prior to version 4.9.0 and performs custom EntityIdentifier.equals() comparisons in your code.
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 · scopedUpgrade CedarJava to version 4.9.0 or later to obtain the fixed EntityIdentifier.equals() implementation.
4.9.0
- Locate the CedarJava dependency in your project's build configuration (pom.xml for Maven or build.gradle for Gradle)
- Update the CedarJava dependency version to 4.9.0
- Run your build tool to download the new version (mvn clean install for Maven or ./gradlew build for Gradle)
- Rebuild your project to ensure compatibility with the updated library
- Test any code that performs equality checks on EntityIdentifier objects to verify correct behavior after the fix
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-55771 — 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-2026-55771 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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