GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Information Exposure vulnerability in org.keycloak:keycloak-services. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.keycloak:keycloak-services — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Keycloak's admin API allows low privilege users to use administrative functions
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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 GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc.
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
GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc 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 377,166 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
org.keycloak:keycloak-servicesReal-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
Users with low privileges (just plain users in the realm) are able to utilize administrative functionalities within Keycloak admin interface. This issue presents a significant security risk as it allows unauthorized users to perform actions reserved for administrators, potentially leading to data breaches or system compromise.
Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Maurizio Agazzini for reporting this issue and helping us improve our project.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.keycloak:keycloak-services | all versions | 24.0.5org.keycloak:keycloak-services:24.0.5 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.keycloak:keycloak-services, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.keycloak:keycloak-services to 24.0.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc 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 GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-2cww-fgmg-4jqc -u https://target- Template
- Keycloak < 24.0.5 - Broken Access Control
- Severity
- high
- Impact
- Authenticated low-privilege users can access administrative functionalities, potentially leading to data breaches or system compromise.
- Remediation
- Update Keycloak to version 24.0.5 or later.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (iamnoooob, rootxharsh, pdresearch), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
Red Hat has evaluated this vulnerability. This affects only Keycloak server and no Keycloak clients library ship the affected code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-2cww-fgmg-4jqc across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.