Tinyauth vulnerable to TOTP/2FA bypass via OIDC authorize endpointGHSA-3q28-qjrv-qr39
HIGHGHSA-3q28-qjrv-qr39 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.5) Improper Authentication vulnerability in github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth. A fix is available for github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-3q28-qjrv-qr39.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauthReal-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
The OIDC authorization endpoint allows users with a TOTP-pending session (password verified, TOTP not yet completed) to obtain authorization codes. An attacker who knows a user's password but not their TOTP secret can obtain valid OIDC tokens, completely bypassing the second factor.
Details
When a user with TOTP enabled logs in at POST /api/user/login, the server creates a session with TotpPending: true and returns a session cookie. The context middleware (internal/middleware/context_middleware.go:56-66) correctly sets TotpPending: true and does not set IsLoggedIn for these sessions.
However, the OIDC authorize handler (internal/controller/oidc_controller.go:105-116) only checks whether a user context exists via utils.GetContext(c). It does not check IsLoggedIn or TotpPending. Since the context middleware populates a context for TOTP-pending sessions (with the username filled in), GetContext succeeds, and the handler proceeds to issue an authorization code at line 156 using the username from the incomplete session.
For comparison, the proxy controller (internal/controller/proxy_controller.go:176-179) correctly blocks TOTP-incomplete sessions by checking IsBasicAuth && TotpEnabled and setting IsLoggedIn = false. The OIDC authorize handler has no equivalent guard.
StoreCode at internal/service/oidc_service.go:305 saves the code with the victim's sub claim. The attacker then exchanges this code at POST /api/oidc/token for a valid access token and ID token.
PoC
Prerequisites: a tinyauth instance with at least one OIDC client configured and a local user with TOTP enabled.
Step 1 — Log in with password only (do not complete TOTP):
curl -c cookies.txt -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/user/login \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"username":"totpuser","password":"totp123"}'
Response: {"message":"TOTP required","status":200,"totpPending":true}
Step 2 — Request an OIDC authorization code using the TOTP-pending cookie:
curl -b cookies.txt -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/oidc/authorize \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"client_id":"my-client-id","redirect_uri":"http://localhost:8080/callback","response_type":"code","scope":"openid","state":"test"}'
Response: {"redirect_uri":"http://localhost:8080/callback?code=<AUTH_CODE>&state=test","status":200}
Step 3 — Exchange the code for tokens:
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/oidc/token \
-u "my-client-id:my-client-secret" \
-d "grant_type=authorization_code&code=<AUTH_CODE>&redirect_uri=http://localhost:8080/callback"
Response contains access_token, id_token, and refresh_token for the victim user. TOTP was never submitted.
Impact
Complete bypass of TOTP/MFA for any user account on any tinyauth instance that has OIDC clients configured. An attacker who has compromised a user's password (credential stuffing, phishing, database breach) can obtain SSO tokens for that user's identity without knowing the TOTP secret. This defeats the purpose of the second factor entirely. All downstream applications relying on tinyauth's OIDC provider for authentication are affected.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth | all versions | 1.0.1-20260311144920-9eb2d33064b7go get github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth@v1.0.1-20260311144920-9eb2d33064b7 |
Affected Products
tinyauthtinyauthDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth to 1.0.1-20260311144920-9eb2d33064b7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-3q28-qjrv-qr39 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-3q28-qjrv-qr39 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.