Dgraph: Unauthenticated Admin Token Disclosure Leading to Authentication Bypass via /debug/vars

Exploitation

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

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-41492: 3.08% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 87.71 (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.

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("dgraphconfig") - Go's expvar package automatically registers /debug/vars - expvar publishes: - cmdline = os.Args - memstats = 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 returns 404 -…

Published by the source

24 Apr 2026, 16:15 UTC

Last modified by the source

4 May 2026, 20:08 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-41492

Advisory: Dgraph: Unauthenticated Admin Token Disclosure Leading to Authentication Bypass via /debug/vars
IDs: CVE-2026-41492, GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-41492 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Partial vendor fix; fixed versions by package: github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 25.3.3. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25: affected < 25.3.3; fixed in 25.3.3
- Go github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph: affected <= 1.2.8
- Go github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24: affected <= 24.1.8

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Go github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Go github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24: 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 github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25, github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph, github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24.
- 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-vvf7-6rmr-m29q (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q lists affected ranges: Go github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 >=0 =0 =0 <=1.2.8)

Commands are suggestions: review each one before running it.