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Fencer Vulns
critical 9.7

CVE-2023-46249 json

authentik potential installation takeover when default admin user is deleted

published 2023-10-31 3 y ago modified 2026-09-08 2 mo ago also BIT-authentik-2023-46249 , EUVD-2023-50479 , GHSA-rjvp-29xq-f62w

cvss
9.7
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.8%
EPSS 0.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 56%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

authentik is an open-source Identity Provider. Prior to versions 2023.8.4 and 2023.10.2, when the default admin user has been deleted, it is potentially possible for an attacker to set the password of the default admin user without any authentication. authentik uses a blueprint to create the default admin user, which can also optionally set the default admin users' password from an environment variable. When the user is deleted, the `initial-setup` flow used to configure authentik after the first installation becomes available again. authentik 2023.8.4 and 2023.10.2 fix this issue. As a workaround, ensure the default admin user (Username `akadmin`) exists and has a password set. It is recommended to use a very strong password for this user, and store it in a secure location like a password manager. It is also possible to deactivate the user to prevent any logins as akadmin.

Patch / fix

  • bitnami authentik 2023.8.4, 2023.10.2
  • goauthentik authentik 2023.10.2

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial
Assessed
2 y ago

Exploit prediction

0.80% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 56% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 9.7 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
OSV 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
bitnami authentik
<2023.8.4
>=2023.10.0, <2023.10.2
2023.8.4
2023.10.2

Affected products

  • goauthentik authentik

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-287 Improper Authentication
  • CWE-306 Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.