CVE-2026-41166 — openremote-manager
HIGHCVE-2026-41166 is a high-severity (CVSS 7) CWE-284 vulnerability in io.openremote:openremote-manager. A fix is available for io.openremote:openremote-manager — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenRemote has Improper Access Control via updateUserRealmRoles function
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-41166.
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-2026-41166 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 377,636 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
io.openremote:openremote-managerReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
A user who has write:admin in one Keycloak realm can call the Manager API to update Keycloak realm roles for users in another realm, including master. The handler uses the {realm} path segment when talking to the identity provider but does not check that the caller may administer that realm. This could result in a privilege escalation to master realm administrator if the attacker controls any user in master realm.
Details
In manager/src/main/java/org/openremote/manager/security/UserResourceImpl.java, there is no check to validate if the caller should be able to administer a realm they're trying to update.
@Override
public void updateUserRealmRoles(RequestParams requestParams, String realm, String userId, String[] roles) {
try {
identityService.getIdentityProvider().updateUserRealmRoles(
realm,
userId,
roles);
} catch (ClientErrorException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace(System.out);
throw new WebApplicationException(ex.getCause(), ex.getResponse().getStatus());
} catch (Exception ex) {
throw new WebApplicationException(ex);
}
}
PoC
- Create a new Keycloak realm other than
master. Add a user and grant that user the OpenRemote client rolewrite:admin. Remember the realm name (call itNEW_REALM). - In Keycloak realm
master, pick a low-privilege user (noadminrealm role). Copy that user’s UUID (<master-user-uuid>). - Authenticate as the user from step 1 and obtain a Bearer access token (
<token>) forNEW_REALM. - Replace placeholders and run:
curl -k -X PUT "https://<host>/api/<NEW_REALM>/user/master/userRealmRoles/<master-user-uuid>" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '["admin"]'
- In the Keycloak Admin Console, realm master, that user, Role mapping. Confirm the admin realm role is assigned.
Impact
An attacker with the OpenRemote client role write:admin in any realm can call this API with {realm} set to another realm (for example master) and change Keycloak realm roles for users there. That can grant admin on master to a user UUID they target, which gives Keycloak administrator access for the master realm.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | io.openremote:openremote-manager | all versions | 1.22.1io.openremote:openremote-manager:1.22.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for io.openremote:openremote-manager, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update io.openremote:openremote-manager to 1.22.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-41166 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-2026-41166 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-41166. 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-2026-41166 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-41166 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.