CVE-2026-85056: Auth Bypass (CVSS 8.2)

Description

ZITADEL is an open source identity management platform. From 4.0.0 until 4.16.1, ZITADEL Login V2 creates a browser session after password verification and can reuse that session for a later authentication request without verifying a user's enrolled TOTP, OTP, or U2F second factor. When the MFA step is abandoned and login starts again, session-validity checks require MFA only when the organization enables Force MFA or Force MFA for local users only, so a voluntarily enrolled factor can be skipped while completing an OIDC or SAML callback for a customer application. Login V1, the ZITADEL Console, Management and Admin APIs, and user self-management are not affected. This issue is fixed in version 4.16.1.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

8.2

HIGH

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0029

Probability of exploitation

0.19%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-287 Improper Authentication

References

Other References

https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/commit/049dbb25a56587fb3980c85c99819cad69f637db https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/commit/56f4798ed31fc1cfcd9a0e7f6f0152289d2fdc43 https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.1 https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/security/advisories/GHSA-9993-rfwp-rhwf

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-85056? +

ZITADEL is an open source identity management platform. From 4.0.0 until 4.16.1, ZITADEL Login V2 creates a browser session after password verification and can reuse that session for a later authentication request without verifying a user's enrolled TOTP, OTP, or U2F second factor. When the MFA step is abandoned and login starts again, session-validity checks require MFA only when the organization enables Force MFA or Force MFA for local users only, so a voluntarily enrolled factor can be skipped while completing an OIDC or SAML callback for a customer application. Login V1, the ZITADEL Console, Management and Admin APIs, and user self-management are not affected. This issue is fixed in version 4.16.1. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-85056? +

CVE-2026-85056 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.2 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0029, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-85056? +

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.

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