Dgraph: Unauthenticated Admin Token Disclosure Leading to Authentication Bypass via /debug/varsGHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q
CRITICALGHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q 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.
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 GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q.
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/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 |
Affected Products
dgraphdgraphDetection & 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 GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q 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.
How to detect GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-vvf7-6rmr-m29q -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 GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.