CVE-2026-27946

A vulnerability in Zitadel's self-management capability allowed users to mark their email and phone as verified without going through an actual verification process.

Affected Versions

Systems running one of the following versions are affected:

• 4.x: 4.0.0 through 4.11.0 (including RC versions)
• 3.x: 3.0.0 through 3.4.6 (including RC versions)
• 2.x: 2.43.0 through 2.71.19

Workarounds

The recommended solution is to upgrade to a patched version. If an upgrade is not possible, an action (v2) could be used to prevent setting the verification flag on the own user.

Questions

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [email protected]

Credits

This vulnerability was identified by MhdAsfan during a security audit of a system utilizing Zitadel.

Zitadel provides an API for managing users. The API also allows users to self-manage their own data including updating the email and phone.

Due to an improper permission check, the API allowed setting the verified flag for the email and phone on the own user.
This allows users to claim ownership of an email or phone they do not control and potentially bypass email-based security policies.

Note that when changing another user's email or phone, regardless of the verification flag, the permissions were correctly checked.

The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation. Typical impact: unauthorized access to restricted functionality or data.

Kodem intelligence

The vulnerability has been addressed in the latest releases. The patch resolves the issue by requiring the correct permission in case the verification flag is provided and only allows self-management of the email address, resp. phone number itself.

4.x: Upgrade to >=4.11.1
3.x: Update to >=3.4.7
2.x: Update to >=3.4.7

1. What is CVE-2026-27946? CVE-2026-27946 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in github.com/zitadel/zitadel (go), affecting versions >= 4.0.0, < 4.11.0. It is fixed in 4.11.1, 3.4.7, 1.80.0-v2.20.0.20260225053417-0261536243e5. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
2. Which versions of github.com/zitadel/zitadel are affected by CVE-2026-27946? github.com/zitadel/zitadel (go) versions >= 4.0.0, < 4.11.0 is affected.
3. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-27946? Yes. CVE-2026-27946 is fixed in 4.11.1, 3.4.7, 1.80.0-v2.20.0.20260225053417-0261536243e5. Upgrade to this version or later.
4. Is CVE-2026-27946 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-27946 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
5. What actually determines whether CVE-2026-27946 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.
6. How do I fix CVE-2026-27946?
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 4.11.1 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 3.4.7 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/zitadel/zitadel to 1.80.0-v2.20.0.20260225053417-0261536243e5 or later