GHSA-4mq7-pvjg-xp2r
HIGHOry Oathkeeper has an authentication bypass by cache key confusion
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.
Blast Radius
github.com/ory/oathkeeperReal-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
Description
Ory Oathkeeper is vulnerable to authentication bypass due to cache key confusion. The oauth2_introspection authenticator cache does not distinguish tokens that were validated with different introspection URLs. An attacker can therefore legitimately use a token to prime the cache, and subsequently use the same token for rules that use a different introspection server.
Preconditions
Ory Oathkeeper has to be configured with multiple oauth2_introspection authenticator servers, each accepting different tokens. The authenticators also must be configured to use caching. An attacker has to have a way to gain a valid token for one of the configured introspection servers.
Mitigation
Ory Oathkeeper now includes the introspection server URL in the cache key, preventing confusion of tokens.
Update to the patched version of Ory Oathkeeper. If that is not immediately possible, disable caching for oauth2_introspection authenticators.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/ory/oathkeeper | all versions | 0.40.10-0.20260320084801-198a2bc82a99 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/ory/oathkeeper. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/ory/oathkeeper to 0.40.10-0.20260320084801-198a2bc82a99 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4mq7-pvjg-xp2r 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-4mq7-pvjg-xp2r is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-4mq7-pvjg-xp2r. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-4mq7-pvjg-xp2r in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-4mq7-pvjg-xp2r across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.