CVE-2026-1524: Auth misconfiguration when multiple providers enabled
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 8/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.36% (FIRST EPSS).
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. Administrator privileges are required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: neo4j Enterprise Edition 2026.02, 5.26.22.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to neo4j Enterprise Edition 2026.02, 5.26.22 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
An edgecase in SSO implementation in Neo4j Enterprise edition versions prior to version 2026.02 can lead to unauthorised access under the following conditions: If a neo4j admin configures two or more OIDC providers AND configures one or more of them to be an authorization provider AND configures one or more of them to be authentication-only, then those that are authentication-only will also provide authorization. This edgecase becomes a security problem only if the authentication-only provider contains groups which have higher privileges than provided by the intended (configured) authorization provider. When using multiple plugins for authentication and authorisation, prior to the fix the issue could lead to a plugin configured to provide only authentication or authorisation capabilities erroneously providing both capabilities. We recommend upgrading to versions 2026.02 (or 5.26.22) where the issue is fixed.
- Published
- Mar 11, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 28, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.3% · 30th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-287
Report tools
Action score
8
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 8 / 40 · 2.1 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.3%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · Neo4j
- 2.1
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/AU:N/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Green
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens
Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| neo4j | neo4j | cpe:2.3:a:neo4j:neo4j |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- neo4j neo4jbefore 5.26.22
- neo4j neo4j2025.01.0 and later · before 2026.02.0
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Neo4j). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
neo4j Enterprise Edition
- 4.4.0 and later · before 5.26.22affected · semver
- 2025.01 and later · before 2026.02affected · date
Same product
neo4j: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2021-34371Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSes43Plan
- CVE-2018-18389Due to incorrect access control in Neo4j Enterprise Database Server 3.4.x before 3.4.9, the setting of LDAP for authentication with STARTTLS40Plan
- CVE-2013-7259Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Neo4J 1.9.2 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrat27Monitor
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-1497Mar 11, 2026 · Incorrect privilege assignment in composite databases8Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-1471Mar 11, 2026 · Caching of authentication context8Monitor
- Later →CVE-2026-14587Aug 5, 2026 · Unathenticated connection can hold Bolt channel open22Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| neo4j Enterprise Edition | 2026.02 | Vendor (CNA) |
| neo4j Enterprise Edition | 5.26.22 | Vendor (CNA) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- Administrator privileges are required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-287 · Improper AuthenticationCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:N/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Green
nvd-secondary
Root cause
Authentication is added route by route instead of being enforced in one place. When a route added later bypasses the shared middleware, the session check never runs for it.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-287 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
app.use("/admin", requireSession, adminRouter);
// Route added later skips the middleware
app.post("/admin-api/config", updateConfig);Fixed
const admin = express.Router();
admin.use(requireSession, requireRole("admin"));
admin.post("/config", updateConfig);
app.use("/admin", admin);Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Authentication AbuseCAPEC-114Medium
- Authentication BypassCAPEC-115Medium
- Identity SpoofingCAPEC-151likelihood: Medium · Medium
- Fake the Source of DataCAPEC-194Medium
- Exploiting Trust in ClientCAPEC-22likelihood: High · High
- Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Obtain Sensitive DataCAPEC-57likelihood: Medium · Very High
- Session HijackingCAPEC-593likelihood: High · Very High
- Token ImpersonationCAPEC-633Medium
ATT&CK techniques
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.