Unauthenticated open redirect via encoded path segments
Published Mar 27, 2026 · Updated Mar 27, 2026
Open redirect in Mastodon release branches before 4.3.21, 4.4.15, and 4.5.8 allows remote attackers to redirect visitors. The /web/* route accepts URL-encoded slashes that bypass Rails path normalization and treats the resulting path as a host-relative external redirect. Exploitation requires a visitor to follow the crafted URL; the redirect supports phishing, credential harvesting, or OAuth authorization-code interception.
Summary
What happened
Open redirect in Mastodon release branches before 4.3.21, 4.4.15, and 4.5.8 allows remote attackers to redirect visitors. The /web/* route accepts URL-encoded slashes that bypass Rails path normalization and treats the resulting path as a host-relative external redirect. Exploitation requires a visitor to follow the crafted URL; the redirect supports phishing, credential harvesting, or OAuth authorization-code interception.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-33868
- Published
- Mar 27, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 27, 2026
- Vendor
- Mastodon
- Product
- Mastodon
- Classifications
- CWE-601, T1566.002
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 4.3.21
- Affected versionversion=>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.15
- Affected versionversion=>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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