CVE-2025-11229 in Identity Server
Summary
by MITRE • 11/04/2026
The system fails to properly enforce scope authorization when the `authorize_all_scopes` configuration is enabled. This allows applications using the client credentials grant type to obtain all API scopes, including sensitive internal and console scopes, without requiring explicit authorization, bypassing intended access controls.
Exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to privilege escalation, enabling unprivileged clients to perform unauthorized administrative actions, access confidential organizational data, and potentially achieve full account takeover in deployments where the `authorize_all_scopes` configuration deviates from its default disabled state.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/04/2026
The identified vulnerability represents a critical failure in identity and access management logic within systems utilizing OAuth 2.0 or OpenID Connect protocols for API authorization. Specifically, this flaw occurs when the system is configured with the authorize_all_scopes setting enabled, which fundamentally alters how scope permissions are granted to client applications during authentication flows. In standard secure configurations, clients must explicitly request specific scopes corresponding to their required functionalities, and these requests undergo rigorous validation against predefined policies. However, under the vulnerable configuration, this granular control mechanism is bypassed entirely for certain grant types, most notably the client credentials flow commonly used by machine-to-machine communications. This misconfiguration allows any application authenticating via this method to automatically receive all available API scopes defined within the system, regardless of whether those permissions are necessary or appropriate for that specific application's role.
From a technical perspective, the core issue lies in the authorization server's decision-making process during token issuance. When authorize_all_scopes is active, the logic fails to filter out sensitive internal and console-level scopes before embedding them into the access tokens issued to clients. These scopes typically grant elevated privileges such as administrative control over system settings, ability to modify user accounts, or direct access to confidential organizational data stores that are not intended for public-facing applications. By failing to enforce scope boundaries based on client identity or policy definitions, the system effectively grants unrestricted root-like permissions to any entity capable of obtaining a valid token through this specific grant type. This represents a severe breakdown in the principle of least privilege, which is foundational to secure software architecture and zero-trust security models.
The operational impact of exploiting this vulnerability is profound and potentially catastrophic for organizational security posture. An attacker or malicious insider with access to an unprivileged client application can leverage its credentials to request tokens that include administrative scopes. This leads directly to privilege escalation, allowing the actor to perform actions reserved exclusively for system administrators. Such unauthorized activities may include creating new admin accounts, modifying critical configuration settings, exfiltrating sensitive data from internal databases, or disabling security logging and monitoring features. In environments where identity providers are integrated with broader enterprise systems, achieving full account takeover becomes a realistic outcome, as the compromised tokens can be used to impersonate high-privileged users or services across multiple connected platforms.
This vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management and CWE-862 Missing Authorization, reflecting fundamental flaws in access control implementation. Furthermore, it maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, specifically the sub-category of Local Accounts or Cloud Accounts, where attackers leverage legitimate credentials to gain unauthorized elevated privileges. The exploitation path also resembles aspects of T1556 Modifying Authentication Process if the attacker modifies client configurations to trigger this behavior, though in most cases it involves simple credential reuse against a misconfigured endpoint.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate remediation of the system configuration alongside broader architectural reviews. The primary and most effective countermeasure is to disable the authorize_all_scopes setting entirely, restoring default behaviors that require explicit scope requests and validations. Organizations should implement strict OAuth 2.0 best practices by defining minimal required scopes for each client application and enforcing these restrictions at the authorization server level rather than relying on permissive defaults. Additionally, implementing fine-grained access control policies using frameworks like ABAC or RBAC can help ensure that even if tokens are issued with broader permissions, downstream API gateways enforce strict validation of scope claims before allowing requests to proceed. Regular audits of client configurations and continuous monitoring for anomalous token usage patterns involving administrative scopes will further reduce the risk surface associated with this class of vulnerability.