CVE-2026-52754
Ghidra before 12.1 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in PKIAuthenticationModule.authenticate() that allows any user with a valid CA-signed certificate to impersonate other users by presenting their public certificate with a null signature.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.25%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
Ghidra before 12.1 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in PKIAuthenticationModule.authenticate() that allows any user with a valid CA-signed certificate to impersonate other users by presenting their public certificate with a null signature. Attackers can escalate privileges, modify repository access controls, exfiltrate shared reverse engineering databases, and permanently compromise server integrity.
- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 HIGHCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/M
- EPSS
- 0.25% probability · 17th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-347
- Affected
- nsa/ghidra
- Source
- disclosure@vulncheck.com
References
- https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/commit/78729379e471bbb3d969409be6a8c3d24af84220Patch
- https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/commit/79d8f164f8bb8b15cfb60c5d4faeb8e1c25d15caPatch
- https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/security/advisories/GHSA-5wxq-7qpv-65p2Vendor Advisory
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ghidra-authentication-bypass-via-null-signature-in-pkiauthenticationmoduleThird Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.