Keycloak vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

6.4 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2022-1438: 0.66% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 51.62 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

A flaw was found in Keycloak. Under specific circumstances, HTML entities are not sanitized during user impersonation, resulting in a Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. Details This issue is the result of code found in the exception here: https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/blob/48835576daa158443f69917ac309e1a7c951bc87/services/src/main/java/org/keycloak/authentication/AuthenticationProcessor.java#L1045 Steps to reproduce When using the legacy admin console: 1. Sign in as Admin user in first tab. 2. In that tab create new user in keycloak admin section intercept user creation request and modify it by including malicious js script there (in username field). 3. Sign in as newly created user in second tab (same browser window but second tab). 4. Navigate back to first tab where you are signed in as admin, navigate to admin console which lists all application users. 5. Choose any user (except newly created malicious one) – modify anything for that user in his settings. E.g.…

Published by the source

1 Mar 2023, 16:18 UTC

Last modified by the source

7 Nov 2023, 05:04 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:16 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2022-1438

Advisory: Keycloak vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting
IDs: CVE-2022-1438, GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2022-1438 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:16 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.4)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor response not established. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven org.keycloak:keycloak-services: affected <= 21.0.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven org.keycloak:keycloak-services: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on org.keycloak:keycloak-services.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-w354-2f3c-qvg9 lists affected ranges: Maven org.keycloak:keycloak-services >=0 <=21.0.0)

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