Vulnerability · Published Aug 18, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-52723ePA 3.x Integration: VAU Server Authentication Bypass via Circular Certificate Trust
Critical 9.1
In plain English
A critical-severity improper certificate validation in ePA3-Service-OpenSource from fbeta-GmbH. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.4% (higher than 33% of all known vulnerabilities).
Official description
ePA 3.x Integration implements the authorization workflow and writes Medical Information Objects to Germany's electronic patient record. Prior to 1.3.0, ePA 3.x Integration performs VAU server certificate validation in app/vau/VAUProtokoll.py without anchoring the signed_vau_server_pub_keys and AUT_VAU_CertData certificate path to independent trusted material. A network-positioned attacker between the DiGA backend and the ePA system can intercept the VAU handshake, supply attacker-controlled certificate and key material, and satisfy the circular trust relationship. Because TLS certificate verification is also disabled in affected versions, no independent server-authentication layer prevents the attack. The attacker can impersonate the VAU server, control the negotiated session keys, and read or modify all encrypted VAU traffic. This issue is fixed in version 1.3.0.
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| fbeta-GmbH | ePA3-Service-OpenSource | < 1.3.0 |
Weakness: CWE-295 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
References
- https://github.com/fbeta-GmbH/ePA3-Service-OpenSource/security/advisories/GHSA-q2jw-6c4w-86jc x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/fbeta-GmbH/ePA3-Service-OpenSource/pull/12 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/fbeta-GmbH/ePA3-Service-OpenSource/commit/197c8c7fc41675f19c7f448696a2bc63fab9db5b x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/fbeta-GmbH/ePA3-Service-OpenSource/releases/tag/1.3.0 x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.machinespirits.de/advisory/a1da93 x_refsource_MISC