JWT verification downgrade via attacker-chosen alg
Published Aug 18, 2026 · Updated Aug 18, 2026
Improper JWT signature verification in Netflix Lemur before 1.9.2 allows attackers to influence token validation via a crafted alg header. The verifier in lemur/auth/service.py reads alg from the unverified JWT header and passes that attacker-controlled value into decode_with_multiple_secrets as the accepted algorithm list instead of enforcing a server-pinned allowlist. PyJWT 2.x blocks a simple alg=none bypass in the shipped configuration, so practical compromise requires a separate secret disclosure or a later asymmetric-signing migration that turns the sink into algorithm confusion and forged token acceptance.
Summary
What happened
Improper JWT signature verification in Netflix Lemur before 1.9.2 allows attackers to influence token validation via a crafted alg header. The verifier in lemur/auth/service.py reads alg from the unverified JWT header and passes that attacker-controlled value into decode_with_multiple_secrets as the accepted algorithm list instead of enforcing a server-pinned allowlist. PyJWT 2.x blocks a simple alg=none bypass in the shipped configuration, so practical compromise requires a separate secret disclosure or a later asymmetric-signing migration that turns the sink into algorithm confusion and forged token acceptance.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-55165
- Published
- Aug 18, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 18, 2026
- Vendor
- Netflix
- Product
- Lemur
- Classifications
- CWE-347, T1606
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 18, 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=< 1.9.2
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
- Lemur JWT algorithm confusion proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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