CVE-2022-23555 : What You Need to Know

This article provides detailed information about CVE-2022-23555, a vulnerability affecting authentik due to improper authentication via invitation URL token reuse.

Understanding CVE-2022-23555

CVE-2022-23555 is a critical vulnerability found in authentik that allows attackers to bypass access control through the reuse of token in invitation URLs.

What is CVE-2022-23555?

authentik, an open-source Identity Provider, is vulnerable to improper authentication in versions prior to 2022.11.4 and 2022.10.4. Attackers can exploit this flaw to sign up via a single invitation URL for any valid invite link, leading to access control bypass.

The Impact of CVE-2022-23555

The vulnerability arises from the reuse of tokens in invitation URLs, allowing attackers to circumvent access controls and impersonate legitimate users. It poses a high risk to confidentiality and integrity as attackers can gain unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Technical Details of CVE-2022-23555

This section outlines the specifics of the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

Versions of authentik before 2022.11.4 and 2022.10.4 are susceptible to improper authentication, enabling attackers to exploit different enrollment flows' names and sign up through a single invitation URL.

Affected Systems and Versions

The vulnerability affects authentik versions >= 2022.11.0 and < 2022.11.4, along with versions < 2022.10.4.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by reusing tokens in invitation URLs to bypass access controls and gain unauthorized access.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting against CVE-2022-23555 involves immediate steps and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update authentik to the patched versions 2022.11.4, 2022.10.4, or 2022.12.0 to mitigate the vulnerability.
Add fixed data to invitations to verify requests and deny unauthorized access.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement identifiers with high entropy, like UUIDs, as flow slugs to reduce the risk of discovering other flows.

Patching and Updates

Ensure timely patching of authentik to the latest secure versions to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.