CVE-2026-41492 — v25
CRITICALCVE-2026-41492 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Information Exposure vulnerability in github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25. A fix is available for github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Unauthenticated Admin Token Disclosure Leading to Authentication Bypass via /debug/vars in Dgraph
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.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2026-41492.
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-2026-41492 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
github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25🐹github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24🐹github.com/dgraph-io/dgraphReal-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
Summary
Dgraph v25.3.2 still exposes the process command line through the unauthenticated /debug/vars endpoint on Alpha. Because the admin token is commonly supplied via the --security "token=..." startup flag, an unauthenticated attacker can retrieve that token and replay it in the X-Dgraph-AuthToken header to access admin-only endpoints.
This is a variant of the previously fixed /debug/pprof/cmdline issue, but the current fix is incomplete because it blocks only /debug/pprof/cmdline and still serves http.DefaultServeMux, which includes expvar's /debug/vars handler.
Details
Alpha still exposes Go's default HTTP mux:
x/metrics.go- imports
expvar - initializes
Conf = expvar.NewMap("dgraph_config")
- imports
- Go's
expvarpackage automatically registers/debug/vars expvarpublishes:cmdline = os.Argsmemstats = runtime.Memstats
Alpha's HTTP handler explicitly blocks only the old CVE path:
dgraph/cmd/alpha/run.go- checks
if r.URL.Path == "/debug/pprof/cmdline"and returns404 - otherwise falls through to
http.DefaultServeMux.ServeHTTP(w, r)
- checks
Admin endpoints still trust the leaked token:
dgraph/cmd/alpha/admin.go- reads
X-Dgraph-AuthToken - compares it to
worker.Config.AuthToken
- reads
PoC
- Send an unauthenticated request to Alpha:
GET /debug/vars HTTP/1.1
Host: target:8080
-
Parse the JSON response and read the
cmdlinefield. -
Extract the admin token from the startup arguments, for example:
--security token=debug-vars-secret;
- Replay the token to an admin-only endpoint:
GET /admin/config/cache_mb HTTP/1.1
Host: target:8080
X-Dgraph-AuthToken: debug-vars-secret
- The request is accepted as an authorized admin request.
This was reproduced against dgraph/dgraph:v25.3.2 in Docker.
Observed behavior:
- unauthenticated
/debug/varsleaked the configured token - replaying the leaked token in
X-Dgraph-AuthTokensuccessfully accessed/admin/config/cache_mb - response body was:
4096
It was verified that the old CVE path appears specifically patched in the same version:
/debug/pprof/cmdlinereturned404 Not Found/debug/pprof/remained reachable
Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can obtain the Alpha admin token and gain unauthorized administrative access.
This enables privileged admin operations such as:
- reading privileged admin configuration
- mutating admin configuration
- performing operational control actions gated by
X-Dgraph-AuthToken
In deployments where the Alpha HTTP port is reachable by untrusted parties, this is a practical authentication bypass to admin functionality.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 | all versions | 25.3.3go get github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25@v25.3.3 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24 | all versions | No fix |
| 🐹Go | github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 to 25.3.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-41492 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-2026-41492 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-41492. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2026-41492
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2026-41492 -u https://target- Template
- Dgraph <= 25.3.2 - Admin Token Disclosure
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Unauthenticated attackers can retrieve the admin token and gain full administrative control over the Dgraph instance.
- Remediation
- Update to Dgraph version 25.3.3 or later.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (Divine Balija), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-41492 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-41492 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.