CVE-2026-97847
Description
A flaw was found in the protocol mapper and identity resolution components of Keycloak. The issue occurs when a client manager uses hardcoded-claim mappers to override identity claims in sessionless service-account tokens. Because these tokens lack a session ID, Keycloak may incorrectly resolve the token bearer as a different, highly privileged user based on the manipulated claims. This can allow an attacker with limited client management permissions to impersonate a realm administrator and gain full control over the realm.
Statement
The Red Hat Product Security team has assessed the severity of this vulnerability as Important, given that exploitation requires the attacker to possess specific client management privileges and knowledge of administrative identifiers. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to obtain full realm administrator authority, enabling them to read, modify, or delete any data within the affected realm. The vulnerability's root cause is an improper identity resolution mechanism that fails to validate the integrity of identity claims in sessionless tokens when protocol mappers are applied.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
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 | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Read Application Data; Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
This weakness can lead to the exposure of resources or functionality to unintended actors, possibly providing attackers with sensitive information or even execute arbitrary code.
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