CVE-2025-26499 in Studio Developer
Summary
by MITRE • 09/11/2025
Under heavy system utilization a random race condition can occur during authentication or token refresh operation. This flaw allows one user to be granted a token intended for another user, resulting in impersonation until the session is ended. This flaw cannot be intentionally exploited due to the required concurring action by two users. However, if the event occurs a user would be inadvertently exposed to another user’s system rights and data access.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/12/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical race condition flaw that emerges under high system load conditions during authentication or token refresh operations. The issue manifests when multiple concurrent user sessions create timing dependencies that can lead to token misassignment between different users. The vulnerability operates within the authentication subsystem where proper synchronization mechanisms fail to prevent concurrent access to shared token resources. This flaw specifically affects the token management process and can result in unauthorized access to system resources and data that belongs to other users. The race condition exploits temporal gaps in the authentication workflow where token generation and assignment occur without adequate mutual exclusion controls.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate synchronization primitives during critical authentication paths. When system utilization reaches high levels, the timing window for race conditions increases significantly, making the flaw more likely to occur in production environments. The flaw exists in the token management logic where authentication tokens are generated and assigned to user sessions without proper atomic operations or locking mechanisms. This creates a scenario where two concurrent authentication processes can interfere with each other's token assignment, leading to token leakage between users. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-362 which specifically addresses race conditions in concurrent programming and authentication systems. From an operational perspective, this flaw represents a significant security risk because it can enable unauthorized data access and privilege escalation without requiring direct exploitation attempts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential data breaches and privilege abuse. When a user receives another user's authentication token, they gain access to that user's system rights and data until the session ends naturally or is terminated. This impersonation capability can persist for extended periods depending on session timeout configurations and system behavior. The vulnerability's indirect exploitation nature makes it particularly dangerous because it requires concurrent user activity to manifest, but once triggered, it can remain undetected for significant timeframes. Security monitoring systems may not immediately flag this activity as malicious since it appears as legitimate user behavior. The flaw's occurrence under heavy system load conditions means that organizations with high user concurrency or resource-intensive applications are more susceptible to exploitation. This vulnerability can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1550.001 which covers use of valid accounts for unauthorized access, as the compromised tokens essentially provide unauthorized access to legitimate user accounts.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust synchronization mechanisms during token generation and assignment processes. System administrators should ensure that all authentication and token refresh operations employ proper locking mechanisms and atomic operations to prevent concurrent access issues. The implementation of additional validation checks during token assignment can help detect and prevent token misassignment scenarios. Organizations should also consider implementing session monitoring and anomaly detection systems that can identify unusual token usage patterns or rapid token rotation that might indicate race condition exploitation. Upgrading authentication systems to include proper mutual exclusion controls and implementing rate limiting on authentication operations can significantly reduce the likelihood of exploitation. The fix should address the underlying concurrency issues by ensuring that token generation and assignment processes are protected by appropriate synchronization primitives, preventing the temporal gaps that enable the race condition to occur. Regular security assessments and load testing of authentication systems should be conducted to identify and remediate similar concurrency-related vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.