CVE-2026-114615
Description
A flaw was found in Authlib. When verifying JSON Web Tokens (JWT), the library fails to properly recognize asymmetric public keys that contain leading whitespace, comments, or formatting prefixes. An unauthenticated remote attacker who knows the public key can exploit this flaw to forge symmetric tokens using that public key as a secret. This allows the attacker to bypass authentication and gain unauthorized access with arbitrary identity or privileges.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Important severity because an unauthenticated remote attacker could forge cryptographic tokens and bypass authentication, leading to unauthorized access. The issue stems from incomplete validation of asymmetric key prefixes, which permits public keys with non-canonical formatting to be treated as symmetric secrets when mixed algorithm registries are enabled. In Red Hat environments, overall exposure is constrained to services that permit dynamic algorithm selection alongside non-stripped public key configurations.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.4 | 9.1 | 7.4 |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | Low | High |
| Privileges Required | None | None | None |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | High | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | High | High |
| Availability Impact | None | None | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control,Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Modify Application Data; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
An attacker could gain access to sensitive data and possibly execute unauthorized code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.
