CVE-2025-53942: authentik Privilege Escalation — Fix

Description

authentik is an open-source Identity Provider that emphasizes flexibility and versatility, with support for a wide set of protocols. In versions 2025.4.4 and earlier, as well as versions 2025.6.0-rc1 through 2025.6.3, deactivated users who registered through OAuth/SAML or linked their accounts to OAuth/SAML providers can still retain partial access to the system despite their accounts being deactivated. They end up in a half-authenticated state where they cannot access the API but crucially they can authorize applications if they know the URL of the application. To workaround this issue, developers can add an expression policy to the user login stage on the respective authentication flow with the expression of return request.context["pending_user"].is_active. This modification ensures that the return statement only activates the user login stage when the user is active. This issue is fixed in versions authentik 2025.4.4 and 2025.6.4.

Is your site exposed to CVE-2025-53942?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

CVSS v3.1 Score

7.4

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-269 CWE-269

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
goauthentik	authentik	< 2025.4.4
goauthentik	authentik	2025.6.0 — 2025.6.4

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/7a4c6b9b50f8b837133a7a1fd2cb9b7f18a145cd https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/c3629d12bfe3d32d3dc8f85c0ee1f087a55dde8f https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/commit/ce3f9e3763c1778bf3a16b98c95d10f4091436ab https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/security/advisories/GHSA-9g4j-v8w5-7x42

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-53942? +

authentik is an open-source Identity Provider that emphasizes flexibility and versatility, with support for a wide set of protocols. In versions 2025.4.4 and earlier, as well as versions 2025.6.0-rc1 through 2025.6.3, deactivated users who registered through OAuth/SAML or linked their accounts to OAuth/SAML providers can still retain partial access to the system despite their accounts being deactivated. They end up in a half-authenticated state where they cannot access the API but crucially they can authorize applications if they know the URL of the application. To workaround this issue, developers can add an expression policy to the user login stage on the respective authentication flow with the expression of return request.context["pending_user"].is_active. This modification ensures that the return statement only activates the user login stage when the user is active. This issue is fixed in versions authentik 2025.4.4 and 2025.6.4. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.4 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2025-53942? +

CVE-2025-53942 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.4 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-53942? +

CVE-2025-53942 affects products from goauthentik, specifically: authentik. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-53942? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Related Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-9490

A security vulnerability has been identified in Acer Care Center where the ACCSvc service creates a Named Pipe with a …

CVE-2026-9489

NitroSense 3.x before 3.01.3052 contains Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) vulnerability.The program exposes a Windows Named Pipe that uses a custom …

CVE-2026-8069

PredatorSense version 3.00.3136 to 3.00.3196 contain Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) vulnerability.The program exposes a Windows Named Pipe that uses a …

CVE-2026-0276

A privilege escalation vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Cortex® XDR Broker VM enables a locally authenticated user to perform actions …

CVE-2025-1424

A privilege escalation vulnerability in PocketBook InkPad Color 3 allows attackers to escalate to root privileges if they gain physical …

CVE-2025-1425

A Sudo privilege misconfiguration vulnerability in PocketBook InkPad Color 3 on Linux, ARM allows attackers to read file contents on …

CVE-2025-53942