Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:LSummary
CVE-2026-22797 is a critical-severity Authentication Bypass by Spoofing (CWE-290) vulnerability in Redhat (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.9 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Adversary-in-the-Middle (T1557); ranked at the 44th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) and IA-3 (Device Identification and Authentication) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-22797 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenStack keystonemiddleware, affecting versions 10.5 through 10.7 before 10.7.2, 10.8 and 10.9 before 10.9.1, and 10.10 through 10.12 before 10.12.1. The external_oauth2_token middleware fails to sanitize incoming authentication headers prior to processing OAuth 2.0 tokens, enabling attackers to inject forged identity headers such as X-Is-Admin-Project, X-Roles, or X-User-Id. All deployments utilizing this middleware are vulnerable, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.9 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L) and mapped to CWE-290 (Authentication Bypass by Spoofing).
An authenticated attacker with low privileges can exploit this issue remotely over the network with low complexity and no user interaction required. By crafting and sending requests with manipulated headers during OAuth 2.0 token processing, the attacker can escalate their privileges or impersonate other users, potentially gaining high confidentiality, integrity, and limited availability impacts across a changed scope.
Advisories recommend upgrading to patched versions: 10.7.2, 10.9.1, or 10.12.1 and later. Detailed discussions and patches are available in the referenced sources, including the Launchpad bug report at https://launchpad.net/bugs/2129018 and oss-security mailing list announcements at https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/16/9, http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/15/1, http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/16/2, and http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/16/3.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-3202
Vulnerability Data
An issue was discovered in OpenStack keystonemiddleware 10.5 through 10.7 before 10.7.2, 10.8 and 10.9 before 10.9.1, and 10.10 through 10.12 before 10.12.1. The external_oauth2_token middleware fails to sanitize incoming authentication headers before processing OAuth 2.0 tokens. By sending forged…
more
identity headers such as X-Is-Admin-Project, X-Roles, or X-User-Id, an authenticated attacker may escalate privileges or impersonate other users. All deployments using the external_oauth2_token middleware are affected.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V6.4.3V10.4.16V10.5.1V11.4.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Proper unique identification and authentication of users directly stops spoofing-based bypass of authentication.
Device identification and authentication before connection prevents spoofing of devices to bypass auth.
Authentication of non-organizational users blocks external spoofing attempts against the scheme.
Authenticator management ensures credentials cannot be easily spoofed or reused to bypass authentication.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Protecting, conveying, and verifying identity assertions specifically prevents the spoofing that enables authentication bypass.
Requiring authentication of users/services/hardware directly counters spoofing-based bypass when strong methods are used.
Proofing and binding identities reduces spoofing opportunities during enrollment but does not address runtime authentication implementation flaws.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure authentication control directly mitigates authentication bypass by spoofing.
Authentication information management directly addresses credential handling that prevents spoofing.
Security testing can detect spoofing vulnerabilities but does not prevent them by itself.
Access control policy reduces spoofing opportunities but does not prescribe authentication mechanisms.
Identity management supports unique identities but does not guarantee resistance to spoofing.
Access rights assignment limits exposure but does not enforce authentication strength.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-290
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-290
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-290