CVE-2026-27802
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows managers in Vaultwarden to escalate their privileges by modifying permissions for collections they shouldn't have access to. It affects all Vaultwarden instances running versions before 1.35.4. Managers could potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive password collections.
💻 Affected Systems
- Vaultwarden
📦 What is this software?
Vaultwarden by Dani Garcia
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
A malicious manager could gain access to all password collections, including those belonging to administrators or other protected users, potentially compromising all stored credentials.
Likely Case
A manager with limited permissions could expand their access to additional collections beyond their intended scope, violating organizational access controls.
If Mitigated
With proper monitoring and least privilege principles, the impact would be limited to unauthorized access to some collections rather than complete system compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires manager-level access. The vulnerability is in the bulk permission update functionality.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.35.4
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/security/advisories/GHSA-r32r-j5jq-3w4m
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Stop the Vaultwarden service. 2. Update to version 1.35.4 or later using your preferred method (Docker, package manager, or manual installation). 3. Restart the Vaultwarden service. 4. Verify the version is 1.35.4 or higher.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Manager Access
allTemporarily remove manager permissions from users who don't absolutely need them until patching can be completed.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict monitoring of permission changes and manager activities
- Apply principle of least privilege - minimize the number of manager accounts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check your Vaultwarden version. If it's below 1.35.4, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
docker exec vaultwarden ./vaultwarden --version or check the web interface admin panelVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm the version is 1.35.4 or higher and test that managers cannot modify permissions for unauthorized collections.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual bulk permission updates
- Manager accounts accessing collections they shouldn't have permissions for
Network Indicators:
- Multiple permission update API calls from manager accounts
SIEM Query:
source="vaultwarden" AND (event="permission_update" OR event="collection_access") AND user_role="manager"