{"cve":"CVE-2021-32701","nvd":{"published":"2021-06-22T20:15:08.727","modified":"2026-06-17T03:53:27.340","status":"Modified","description":"ORY Oathkeeper is an Identity & Access Proxy (IAP) and Access Control Decision API that authorizes HTTP requests based on sets of Access Rules. When you make a request to an endpoint that requires the scope `foo` using an access token granted with that `foo` scope, introspection will be valid and that token will be cached. The problem comes when a second requests to an endpoint that requires the scope `bar` is made before the cache has expired. Whether the token is granted or not to the `bar` scope, introspection will be valid. A patch will be released with `v0.38.12-beta.1`. Per default, caching is disabled for the `oauth2_introspection` authenticator. When caching is disabled, this vulnerability does not exist. The cache is checked in [`func (a *AuthenticatorOAuth2Introspection) Authenticate(...)`](https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/blob/6a31df1c3779425e05db1c2a381166b087cb29a4/pipeline/authn/authenticator_oauth2_introspection.go#L152). From [`tokenFromCache()`](https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/blob/6a31df1c3779425e05db1c2a381166b087cb29a4/pipeline/authn/authenticator_oauth2_introspection.go#L97) it seems that it only validates the token expiration date, but ignores whether the token has or not the proper scopes. The vulnerability was introduced in PR #424. During review, we failed to require appropriate test coverage by the submitter which is the primary reason that the vulnerability passed the review process.","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","score":7.5},"cwes":["CWE-863"],"references":["https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/commit/1f9f625c1a49e134ae2299ee95b8cf158feec932","https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/pull/424","https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/security/advisories/GHSA-qvp4-rpmr-xwrr","https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/commit/1f9f625c1a49e134ae2299ee95b8cf158feec932","https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/pull/424"],"products":["ory:oathkeeper"],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T21:20:07.141963181+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2021-32701","score":0.01631,"percentile":0.76238,"date":"2026-10-31"},"kev":null,"osv":[{"id":"GHSA-qvp4-rpmr-xwrr","url":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-qvp4-rpmr-xwrr","summary":"Possible bypass of token claim validation when OAuth2 Introspection caching is enabled","modified":"2026-09-10T03:49:26.937667723Z","packages":[{"ecosystem":"Go","name":"github.com/ory/oathkeeper","purl":"pkg:golang/github.com/ory/oathkeeper","ranges":[">=0.38.0-beta.2 <0.38.12-beta.1"],"fixed":["0.38.12-beta.1"]}]},{"id":"GHSA-vfvf-6gx5-mqv6","url":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-vfvf-6gx5-mqv6","summary":"Incorrect Authorization in ORY Oathkeeper","modified":"2026-09-10T03:49:06.212392331Z","packages":[{"ecosystem":"Go","name":"github.com/ory/oathkeeper","purl":"pkg:golang/github.com/ory/oathkeeper","ranges":[">=0.38.0-beta.2 <0.38.12-beta.1"],"fixed":["0.38.12-beta.1"]}]}],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}