CVE-2024-32868 — zitadel
MEDIUMCVE-2024-32868 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) CWE-297 vulnerability in github.com/zitadel/zitadel. A fix is available for github.com/zitadel/zitadel — see the affected versions and patch details below.
ZITADEL's Improper Lockout Mechanism Leads to MFA Bypass
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-32868.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2024-32868 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/zitadel/zitadelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
ZITADEL provides users the possibility to use Time-based One-Time-Password (TOTP) and One-Time-Password (OTP) through SMS and Email.
While ZITADEL already gives administrators the option to define a Lockout Policy with a maximum amount of failed password check attempts, there was no such mechanism for (T)OTP checks.
Patches
2.x versions are fixed on >= 2.50.0
Workarounds
There is no workaround since a patch is already available.
References
None
Questions
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [email protected]
Credits
Thanks to Jack Moran from Layer 9 Information Security, Ethan from zxsecurity and Amit Laish from GE Vernova for finding and reporting the vulnerability.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/zitadel/zitadel | all versions | 2.50.0go get github.com/zitadel/zitadel@v2.50.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/zitadel/zitadel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 2.50.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-32868 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2024-32868 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-32868. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-32868 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-32868 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.