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CVE-2026-45051 – Pre-Auth Remote Code Execution – OpenAM before 16.1.1

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Summary

CVE-2026-45051 is a critical deserialization-of-untrusted-data vulnerability (CWE-502) in OpenAM’s WebAuthn authentication module (openam-auth-webauthn). The module deserializes attacker-supplied data stored in a configured user attribute without validation, which can allow an attacker who can write to that attribute to achieve pre-authentication remote code execution on the application server. All OpenAM Community Edition releases through 16.0.6 are affected, and the issue is fixed in 16.1.1.

Technical details

  • Root cause: the WebAuthn authenticator storage handling in OpenAM deserializes a serialized object read from a configured user attribute without proper input validation, enabling Java deserialization gadget-chain exploitation.
  • Trigger conditions: exploitation requires that an attacker already has write access to the storage attribute consumed by the WebAuthn module — either the default attribute is user-writable, or the userAttribute configuration option points to an attacker-controlled string attribute. This write access could be obtained through delegated administration, provisioning workflows, write access to the backing LDAP/directory user record, legacy REST self-registration, or unsafe reconfiguration of userAttribute.
  • Attack vector: network-based; once the malicious payload is written to the attribute, triggering the reachable WebAuthn authentication flow executes the deserialization.
  • Impact: arbitrary code execution in the context of the application server, with no authentication required to trigger the deserialization itself (pre-auth RCE).

Affected software

  • OpenIdentityPlatform OpenAM (Community Edition), org.openidentityplatform.openam:openam-auth-webauthn — all versions through 16.0.6
  • Fixed in OpenAM 16.1.1

Severity

CVSS v4.0 Base Score: 9.2 (Critical)
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Upgrade OpenAM to version 16.1.1 or later, where the deserialization issue is resolved.
  • If patching is not immediately possible:
    • Audit and restrict write access to any user attribute consumed by the WebAuthn module, including the default storage attribute and any custom userAttribute configured.
    • Review delegated administration, provisioning, LDAP/directory write permissions, and legacy REST self-registration endpoints for unintended write access to WebAuthn-related attributes.
    • Where feasible, disable or restrict the WebAuthn authentication flow until the upgrade can be applied.

References

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