GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g

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Source
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g
Import Source
https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/06/GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g/GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g
Aliases
Published
2026-06-18T13:52:21Z
Modified
2026-07-18T17:30:29Z
Severity
  • 4.2 (Medium) CVSS_V3 - CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N CVSS Calculator
Summary
ZITADEL: Missing Token Lifecyle Validation (`exp` and `iat`) in JWT IdP Provider
Details

Summary

A token lifecycle validation vulnerability was discovered in ZITADEL's external JWT Identity Provider (IdP) implementation. ZITADEL enforces a 1-hour maximum token age freshness window (maxAge) calculated from the token's issue time. However, this safety check is guarded by a presence condition. If an incoming token omits the iat claim, the freshness check is entirely bypassed, allowing arbitrarily old tokens to pass authentication successfully.

Per the OIDC Core 1.0 specification, identity token validation pipelines must strictly handle and enforce session expiration. ZITADEL's silent acceptance of tokens missing these temporal constraints compromises session integrity.

Impact

An attacker in possession of a stale token lacking an iat claim can reuse it indefinitely without triggering the maximum age freshness invalidation.

Affected Versions

Systems running one of the following versions are affected:

  • 4.x: 4.0.0 through 4.15.1 (including RC versions)
  • 3.x: 3.0.0 through 3.4.11 (including RC versions)

Patches

The vulnerability has been addressed in the latest releases. ZITADEL now explicitly rejects tokens that lack an iat claim.

Workarounds

The recommended solution is to update ZITADEL to a patched version.

If an immediate upgrade is not feasible, ensure at the upstream Identity Provider level that your external IdP explicitly includes the iat claim in all signed JWTs.

Publication Note

This advisory covers a subset of the security issues originally published on ZITADEL's registry under this tracking ID. To adhere strictly to CVE formatting standards regarding independently fixable flaws, the original "Token Lifecycle Validation" disclosure has been split into two granular entries. This entry specifically tracks the missing iat claim logic, while a separate companion entry tracks the missing exp claim logic: GHSA-v77h-2w3m-94hx

Questions

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at security@zitadel.com

Credits

Thanks to Android-Login-Analysis, Jason Zhou and Pedro Giglioti for reporting this vulnerability.

Database specific 
{
    "cwe_ids":  [
        "CWE-613"
    ],
    "github_reviewed":  true,
    "github_reviewed_at":  "2026-06-18T13:52:21Z",
    "nvd_published_at":  "2026-07-10T18:16:23Z",
    "severity":  "MODERATE"
}
References

Affected packages

Go / github.com/zitadel/zitadel

Package

Name
github.com/zitadel/zitadel
View open source insights on deps.dev
Purl
pkg:golang/github.com/zitadel/zitadel

Affected ranges

Type
SEMVER
Events
Introduced
0 Unknown introduced version / All previous versions are affected
Fixed
1.80.0-v2.20.0.20260615122908-fad02c6d9f45

Database specific

source 
"https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/06/GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g/GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g.json"