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Vulnerability · Published Oct 31, 2023 · Assigned by GitHub_M

CVE-2023-46249authentik potential installation takeover when default admin user is deleted

Critical 9.7

In plain English

A critical-severity improper authentication in authentik from goauthentik. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.8% (higher than 57% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)9.7Critical
Exploit odds (30 days)0.8%top 43.4% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

authentik is an open-source Identity Provider. Prior to versions 2023.8.4 and 2023.10.2, when the default admin user has been deleted, it is potentially possible for an attacker to set the password of the default admin user without any authentication. authentik uses a blueprint to create the default admin user, which can also optionally set the default admin users' password from an environment variable. When the user is deleted, the `initial-setup` flow used to configure authentik after the first installation becomes available again. authentik 2023.8.4 and 2023.10.2 fix this issue. As a workaround, ensure the default admin user (Username `akadmin`) exists and has a password set. It is recommended to use a very strong password for this user, and store it in a secure location like a password manager. It is also possible to deactivate the user to prevent any logins as akadmin.

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
goauthentik authentik < 2023.8.4>= 2023.10.0, < 2023.10.2

Weakness: CWE-287 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

References