CVE-2022-36051

Workarounds

There is no workaround since a patch is already available.

Who did disclose this

During our recurring white box penetration test our external security consultant found this issue.
The full report will be made public after the complete review.

References

https://docs.zitadel.com/docs/guides/manage/customize/behavior
https://docs.zitadel.com/docs/apis/actions
https://zitadel.com/blog/pentest-results-h1-2021

Questions

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

• Email us at [email protected]

Actions, introduced in ZITADEL 1.42.0 on the API and 1.56.0 for Console, is a feature, where users with role ORG_OWNER are able to create Javascript Code, which is invoked by the system at certain points during the login.
Actions, for example, allow creating authorizations (user grants) on newly created users programmatically.
Due to a missing authorization check, Actions were able to grant authorizations for projects that belong to other organisations inside the same Instance. Granting authorizations via API and Console is not affected by this vulnerability.

The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.

CVE-2022-36051 has a CVSS score of 8.7 (High). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.2.0, 1.87.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

2.x versions are fixed on >= 2.2.0
1.x versions are fixed on >= 1.87.1

ZITADEL recommends upgrading to the latest versions available in due course.

1. What is CVE-2022-36051? CVE-2022-36051 is a high-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in github.com/zitadel/zitadel (go), affecting versions >= 2.0.0, < 2.2.0. It is fixed in 2.2.0, 1.87.1. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-36051? CVE-2022-36051 has a CVSS score of 8.7 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of github.com/zitadel/zitadel are affected by CVE-2022-36051? github.com/zitadel/zitadel (go) versions >= 2.0.0, < 2.2.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-36051? Yes. CVE-2022-36051 is fixed in 2.2.0, 1.87.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-36051 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-36051 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2022-36051 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2022-36051?
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 2.2.0 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 1.87.1 or later