Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:NCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-32727 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Scitokens Scitokens Library. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow (T1003.008); ranked at the 44th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — 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-2026-32727 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the Enforcer component of the SciTokens library, affecting versions prior to 1.9.7. SciTokens is a reference library for generating and using SciTokens. The flaw occurs because the Enforcer normalizes both the authorized path from the token's scope claim and the requested path from the application before comparing them using startswith, enabling attackers to use dot-dot (..) sequences in the scope claim to bypass intended directory restrictions.
The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N), indicating exploitation over the network with low complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction. An attacker who can obtain a token with low privileges—such as an authenticated user—can craft the scope claim to include path traversal payloads, escaping the restricted directory. This allows unauthorized access to or modification of files outside the intended scope, resulting in high confidentiality and integrity impacts.
The issue has been addressed in SciTokens version 1.9.7. Mitigation involves upgrading to this patched version. Official resources include the GitHub security advisory (GHSA-3x2w-63fp-3qvw), the patching commit (2d1cc9e42bc944fe0bbc429b85d166e7156d53f9), pull request #230, and release notes for v1.9.7.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17292
Vulnerability Data
SciTokens is a reference library for generating and using SciTokens. Prior to version 1.9.7, the Enforcer is vulnerable to a path traversal attack where an attacker can use dot-dot (..) in the scope claim of a token to escape the…
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intended directory restriction. This occurs because the library normalizes both the authorized path (from the token) and the requested path (from the application) before comparing them using startswith. This issue has been patched in version 1.9.7.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
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.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
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.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.