Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-35029

Access Control in Litellm ≤ 1.83.0

Published
06 April 2026
Modified
15 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.26 98th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-35029 is a high-severity Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Litellm Litellm. Its CVSS base score is 8.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

This vulnerability is AI-related — categorised as LLM Application Platforms; in the Supply Chain and Deployment risk domain.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-25 (Reference Monitor) — 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.

LiteLLM is an AI gateway proxy server that routes calls to LLM APIs using OpenAI-compatible or native formats. Prior to version 1.83.0 the /config/update endpoint failed to enforce admin-role authorization checks, a flaw tracked as CWE-863. Any authenticated user could therefore alter proxy settings and environment variables through this endpoint.

An attacker already logged into the platform can register custom pass-through handlers that point to attacker-controlled Python code, resulting in remote code execution. The same access also permits reading arbitrary files by setting UI_LOGO_PATH and retrieving them via /get_image, as well as account takeover by overwriting UI_USERNAME and UI_PASSWORD variables.

The GitHub security advisory GHSA-53mr-6c8q-9789 states that the issue is resolved in LiteLLM v1.83.0.

The associated EPSS score rose from lower values after the April 2026 disclosure to a peak of 0.2593 on 22 May 2026 before receding to the current 0.1938, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest in this LLM-gateway component.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

LiteLLM is a proxy server (AI Gateway) to call LLM APIs in OpenAI (or native) format. Prior to 1.83.0, the /config/update endpoint does not enforce admin role authorization. A user who is already authenticated into the platform can then use…

more

this endpoint to modify proxy configuration and environment variables, register custom pass-through endpoint handlers pointing to attacker-controlled Python code, achieving remote code execution, read arbitrary server files by setting UI_LOGO_PATH and fetching via /get_image, and take over other privileged accounts by overwriting UI_USERNAME and UI_PASSWORD environment variables. Fixed in v1.83.0.

CWE(s)

AI Security AnalysisAI

AI Category
LLM Application Platforms
Risk Domain
Supply Chain and Deployment
OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025
None mapped
Classification Reason
Matched keywords: ai, llm, openai

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may bypass UAC mechanisms to elevate process privileges on system.
T1548.003 Sudo and Sudo Caching Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may perform sudo caching and/or use the sudoers file to elevate privileges.
T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-47101Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-47102Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-12797Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-59819Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-59822Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-35030Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-42203Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-12770Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-12771Same product: Litellm Litellm
CVE-2026-12799Same product: Litellm Litellm

Affected Assets

litellm
litellm
≤ 1.83.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 directly requires correct enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally preventing incorrect checks.

AC-24 ensures access-control decisions are made and applied consistently, reducing the chance of an incorrect authorization result.

A reference monitor that is always invoked and tamper-proof forces every authorization decision through a verified, correct path.

Least-privilege assignments shrink the set of authorizations that must be checked correctly, limiting exposure to flawed checks.

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.

PR.AA-05 full match
prevents

Directly requires policy-driven definition, enforcement, and review of authorizations on resources such as URLs.

PR.IR-01 mostly match
prevents

Protects environments from unauthorized logical access, which includes preventing direct requests to restricted paths.

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.

finds

Security testing can detect forced-browsing flaws, but the control itself does not prevent them in production.

prevents

Information access restriction implements the technical enforcement that directly blocks unauthorized direct requests.

prevents

Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.

prevents

Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.

degrades

Privileged access rights control enforces least-privilege checks on restricted endpoints.

prevents

Secure SDLC can include authorization design, yet the control itself does not guarantee runtime enforcement.

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 (2 rules)
  • V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
  • V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204430 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must re-authenticate for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-251712 The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863

References