Authenticated admin escalation via low-privilege JWT acceptance
Published Sep 14, 2026 · Updated Sep 14, 2026
Incorrect privilege assignment in Apache Syncope allows remote authenticated users to gain admin privileges through internal JWT authentication. Syncope accepts a valid low-privilege JWT as an administrator when internal JWT authentication uses disclosed JWKS protocol and key settings. Exploitation requires successful authentication, a valid low-privilege token, and disclosure of at least the configured JWKS protocol and key.
Summary
What happened
Incorrect privilege assignment in Apache Syncope allows remote authenticated users to gain admin privileges through internal JWT authentication. Syncope accepts a valid low-privilege JWT as an administrator when internal JWT authentication uses disclosed JWKS protocol and key settings. Exploitation requires successful authentication, a valid low-privilege token, and disclosure of at least the configured JWKS protocol and key.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-78330
- Published
- Sep 14, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 14, 2026
- Vendor
- The Apache Software Foundation
- Product
- Apache Syncope
- Classifications
- T1078
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 14, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=3.0.0-M0 <=3.0.16
- Affected versionversion=4.0.0-M0 <=4.0.7
- Affected versionversion=4.1.0-M0 <=4.1.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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