CVE-2026-71543: OpenBao's Templated Policies Allow Privilege Escalation via Wildcard Characters
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)
- 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: 0.42% (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: openbao openbao 2.6.0.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to openbao openbao 2.6.0 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
OpenBao is an open source identity-based secrets management system. Prior to 2.6.0, templated ACL, PKI, and SSH policies could substitute attacker-controlled identity data without rejecting syntax-significant characters. In ACL templated policies, asterisks, plus signs, and slashes could alter path matching. In PKI allowed_uri_sans_template and allowed_domains policies, an asterisk could broaden certificate issuance to unauthorized domains. In SSH allowed_users and allowed_domains policies, a comma could add unauthorized principals. Exploitation requires a deployment to use templated policy data that users can freely modify; templates based on the randomly generated identity.entity.id value are not affected. This could allow privilege escalation, unauthorized access, and unauthorized certificate issuance. This issue is fixed in version 2.6.0.
- Published
- Sep 21, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.4% · 36th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-863
Report tools
Action score
30
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.4%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · GitHub_M
- 7.5
- 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:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
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.
Is your version affected? Check itNoroxi 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.
—
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
openbao openbao
- <2.6.0affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | github.com/openbao/openbao | from 0.1.0 · up to and including 1.1.5 | — |
| Go | github.com/openbao/openbao | from 0.1.0 | — |
| Go | github.com/openbao/openbao | before 0.0.0-20260710001938-2d4ebafec5c5 | 0.0.0-20260710001938-2d4ebafec5c5 |
Same product
openbao: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-33758OpenBao has Reflected XSS in its OIDC authentication error message37Monitor
- CVE-2026-63132OpenBao's Recovery Mode Vulnerable To Token Leakage via Timing Attack36Monitor
- CVE-2025-54997OpenBao: Privileged Operator May Execute Code on the Underlying Host36Monitor
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-55770Sep 15, 2026 · OpenBao: LDAPi ldaputil (wrong escape func)27Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-55776Sep 15, 2026 · OpenBao: Transit secrets engine crashes on key creation with `derived: true` for asymmetric key types26Monitor
- Later →CVE-2026-63131Sep 23, 2026 · OpenBao LIST ACL bypass: a trailing-slash LIST request skips a more-specific deny rule (unported Vault v2.0.3 fix)24Monitor
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 |
|---|---|---|
| openbao openbao | 2.6.0 · description | Vendor (CNA) |
| Go:github.com/openbao/openbao | 0.0.0-20260710001938-2d4ebafec5c5 | Package registry (OSV) |
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.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2026-11536531 days apartOpenBao 2.3.0 before 2.6.3 Incorrect Authorization via Policy Cache Namespace Traversal30Monitor
- CVE-2026-4580845 days apartOpenBao's cross-namespace lease revocation via legacy sys/revoke path bypasses ACL28Monitor
- CVE-2026-631312 days apartOpenBao LIST ACL bypass: a trailing-slash LIST request skips a more-specific deny rule (unported Vault v2.0.3 fix)24Monitor
- CVE-2026-557746 days apartOpenBao: Cross-namespace lease revocation/renewal via canonical sys/leases/{revoke,renew} — incomplete fix of CVE-2026-458088Monitor
- CVE-2026-11536131 days apartOpenBao before 2.6.3 ACL Bypass via Dropped Templated Policy Denial8Monitor
- CVE-2026-11536631 days apartOpenBao 2.3.0 before 2.6.3 Missing Root Namespace Enforcement in Plugin Catalog APIs8Monitor
Not on record for this CVE: researcher credit · public bounty program.
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-863 · Incorrect AuthorizationCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/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:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log (1)
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (6 more)Show less
- github.com/openbao/openbao/commit/2d4ebafec5c524408b3d4ac1198df909cb7ac8c1
- github.com/openbao/openbao/commit/e516ce508e1481504cadbfbf62052364339093bc
- github.com/openbao/openbao/pull/3401
- github.com/openbao/openbao/pull/3473
- github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.6.0
- github.com/openbao/openbao/security/advisories/GHSA-59w7-v8rr-pr4p
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.