CVE-2026-7571
Description
A flaw was found in Keycloak. A low-privilege user, with knowledge of user credentials and client ID, can bypass a security control intended to disable the implicit flow in OpenID Connect (OIDC) clients. By manipulating client data during a session restart, an attacker can obtain an access token that should not be available. This vulnerability can also lead to the exposure of these access tokens in server logs, proxy logs, and HTTP Referrer headers, resulting in sensitive information disclosure.
Statement
This High severity flaw in Keycloak allows a low-privilege user, with knowledge of user credentials and client ID, to bypass the implicitFlowEnabled=false setting. By forging client data during a session restart, an attacker can obtain an implicit access token, potentially exposing it in URL query strings if response_mode=query is also forged. This bypass undermines a critical security control intended to prevent implicit flow, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive tokens.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, restrict network access to the Keycloak authentication endpoint to trusted clients and networks. Implement firewall rules to control inbound connections to the Keycloak service ports, thereby reducing the attack surface and limiting who can initiate authentication flows and potentially exploit the implicit flow bypass. If the Keycloak service is reloaded or restarted, ensure these network restrictions remain in effect.
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 | 7.1 | N/A | 7.1 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Application Data
Without appropriate protection mechanisms, the client can easily tamper with cookies and similar web data. Reliance on the cookies without detailed validation can lead to problems such as SQL injection. If you use cookie values for security related decisions on the server side, manipulating the cookies might lead to violations of security policies such as authentication bypassing, user impersonation and privilege escalation. In addition, storing sensitive data in the cookie without appropriate protection can also lead to disclosure of sensitive user data, especially data stored in persistent cookies.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Evan Hendra for reporting this issue.
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