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GHSA-94xm-jj8x-3cr4
No affected components available
Summary
When a user account is disabled or locked, the status check is only enforced on the local login and JWT token refresh paths. Three other authentication paths — API tokens, CalDAV basic auth, and OpenID Connect — do not verify user status, allowing disabled or locked users to continue accessing the API and syncing data.
Details
User status (StatusDisabled, StatusAccountLocked) is checked in only two places:
- Local/LDAP login (
pkg/routes/api/v1/login.go:74) — prevents issuing new JWTs - JWT token refresh (
pkg/routes/api/v1/login.go:247) — prevents refreshing expired JWTs
Three other authentication paths fetch the user from the database via GetUserByID but never inspect the returned user's status:
1. API Token Authentication (pkg/routes/api_tokens.go:76-103)
API tokens are long-lived (up to years) and have no refresh cycle. A disabled user's API tokens remain fully functional until they expire naturally.
2. CalDAV Basic Auth (pkg/routes/caldav/auth.go)
The CalDAV basic auth handler validates credentials but does not check user status before granting access. A disabled user with valid credentials or a CalDAV token can continue syncing calendars and tasks.
3. OpenID Connect Callback (pkg/modules/auth/openid/openid.go)
The OIDC callback issues a fresh JWT token after validating the identity provider's response but does not check whether the Vikunja user account is disabled. If the user's identity provider session is still active, they receive a valid JWT despite being disabled in Vikunja.
Impact
An administrator who disables a user account expects that user to be immediately locked out. In practice:
- API tokens: The user retains full API access for the remaining lifetime of any issued API tokens — potentially months or years.
- CalDAV: The user can continue reading and writing tasks/events via any CalDAV client.
- OIDC: The user can obtain a fresh, fully valid JWT by re-authenticating through their identity provider, completely bypassing the account disable.
Proof of Concept
- Create a user and generate an API token.
- Disable the user account via the admin API or CLI.
- Make an API request using the API token:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer tk_<token>" https://vikunja.example/api/v1/user - The request succeeds with a 200 response despite the account being disabled.
The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker needs basic access or low-level privileges. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability.
Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.
The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.
We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.
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