Summary
An issue was discovered in OpenStack Keystone before 29.0.2. The Keystone federated token rescoping mechanism does not propagate the original token's expiry to the newly issued token. When a federated user rescopes a token via POST /v3/auth/tokens, the handle_scoped_token() function in the mapped authentication plugin returns response data without an expires_at value. The token provider falls back to issuing a token with a fresh default TTL. By rescoping repeatedly before each token expires, a user can maintain access indefinitely, bypassing operator-configured token lifetime policies. This is a variant of CVE-2012-3426. Only deployments using federated identity (SAML2, OpenID Connect) are affected.
Impact
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-2026-44394 has a CVSS score of 6.0 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (27.0.2, 28.0.2, 29.0.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
keystone to 27.0.2 or later; keystone to 28.0.2 or later; keystone to 29.0.2 or later
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-44394? CVE-2026-44394 is a medium-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in keystone (pip), affecting versions >= 14.0.0, < 27.0.2. It is fixed in 27.0.2, 28.0.2, 29.0.2. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
- How severe is CVE-2026-44394? CVE-2026-44394 has a CVSS score of 6.0 (Medium). 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.
- Which versions of keystone are affected by CVE-2026-44394? keystone (pip) versions >= 14.0.0, < 27.0.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-44394? Yes. CVE-2026-44394 is fixed in 27.0.2, 28.0.2, 29.0.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-44394 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-44394 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-44394 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-44394?
- Upgrade
keystoneto 27.0.2 or later - Upgrade
keystoneto 28.0.2 or later - Upgrade
keystoneto 29.0.2 or later
- Upgrade