CVE-2023-36456
HIGHDescription
authentik is an open-source Identity Provider. Prior to versions 2023.4.3 and 2023.5.5, authentik does not verify the source of the X-Forwarded-For and X-Real-IP headers, both in the Python code and the go code. Only authentik setups that are directly accessible by users without a reverse proxy are susceptible to this. Possible spoofing of IP addresses in logs, downstream applications proxied by (built in) outpost, IP bypassing in custom flows if used. This poses a possible security risk when someone has flows or policies that check the user's IP address, e.g. when they want to ignore the user's 2 factor authentication when the user is connected to the company network. A second security risk is that the IP addresses in the logfiles and user sessions are not reliable anymore. Anybody can spoof this address and one cannot verify that the user has logged in from the IP address that is in their account's log. A third risk is that this header is passed on to the proxied application behind an outpost. The application may do any kind of verification, logging, blocking or rate limiting based on the IP address, and this IP address can be overridden by anybody that want to. Versions 2023.4.3 and 2023.5.5 contain a patch for this issue.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
Exploit Intelligence
Moderate risk: more likely to be exploited than 53% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-436 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-63030 | Critical | 9.8 | 96% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2025-25292 | Critical | 9.8 | 65% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2022-37436 | Medium | 5.3 | 58% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2021-28474 | High | 8.8 | 51% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2025-25291 | Critical | 9.8 | 20% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2019-17596 | High | 7.5 | 4.7% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2023-36456?
Upgrade authentik to 2023.5.5 or later.
Is CVE-2023-36456 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2023-36456 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.79% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 53% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2023-36456?
CVE-2023-36456 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.3, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2023-36456 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for authentik (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
Embed a live status badge for CVE-2023-36456
Markdown
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.