Critical

OpenDJ SASL PLAIN authzid bypassing the proxy ACI scope check

  • Disclosed: 24.07.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 12:22

Summary

When a SASL PLAIN bind supplies an authorization identity (authzid) that resolves to a different user, PlainSASLMechanismHandler verified only the PROXIED_AUTH privilege and never evaluated the "proxy" access-control right (the mayProxy ACI scope check). As a result, any account holding the proxied-auth privilege could assume any resolvable non-root identity without being granted a proxy ACI for that target.

This diverges from every other proxy path in OpenDJ — the proxied-authorization controls (RFC 4370) and the DIGEST-MD5 / GSSAPI authzid handlers all require both the privilege and the mayProxy scope grant.

Impact

Privilege escalation / authorization bypass: a holder of proxied-auth can act as arbitrary directory users beyond the scope intended by the deployment's proxy ACIs, defeating the ACI-based restriction on which identities may be impersonated. Root/Directory Manager is not assumable this way.

Fix

Enforce the mayProxy scope check on the SASL PLAIN authzid path (both dn: and u:/bare forms), sharing one hasProxyAccess helper with the DIGEST-MD5/GSSAPI path. Denial returns INVALID_CREDENTIALS (49) before password verification — matching DIGEST-MD5/GSSAPI — so an unauthenticated client cannot distinguish a missing privilege from a missing ACI grant.

Workaround

Restrict or revoke the proxied-auth privilege until upgraded.

Affected software

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PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Java / Kotlin (Maven) org.openidentityplatform.opendj:opendj-server-legacy < 5.1.2 5.1.2

References

CVSS score 9.6/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-285, CWE-639
Platform
Java / Kotlin (Maven)
Package
org.openidentityplatform.opendj:opendj-server-legacy
Disclosed
24.07.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 12:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-p279-2cqp-84jg - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: org.openidentityplatform.opendj:opendj-server-legacy

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

Total entries
3
First → latest
03.2025 07.2026
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 2
  • High 1

Disclosures per year

  1. 2025: 1
  2. 2026: 2
  1. OpenDJ SASL PLAIN authzid bypassing the proxy ACI scope check this entry
    Critical · 9.6 CVE-2026-73644 < 5.1.2 5.1.2
  2. Critical CVE-2026-46495 < 5.1.1 5.1.1
  3. High CVE-2025-27497 < 4.9.3 4.9.3

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