CVE-2025-53999 in Altair Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 08/20/2026
Unauthenticated Broken Access Control in Altair <= 5.2.2 versions.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/20/2026
The vulnerability identified as an unbroken access control issue within Altair GraphQL Client and IDE versions prior to or equal to 5.2.2 represents a critical failure in the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms. This flaw allows any remote, unauthenticated attacker to bypass security controls that are intended to restrict access to specific resources or functionalities. In modern web applications and integrated development environments like Altair, which facilitate interaction with GraphQL endpoints, proper session management and token validation are essential for maintaining data integrity and confidentiality. The absence of these checks in the affected versions creates a significant attack surface where malicious actors can interact with sensitive interfaces without providing valid credentials.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability stems from improper implementation of access control policies within the application's request handling logic. When users attempt to perform actions that require authentication, such as saving configurations, accessing private history logs, or modifying workspace settings, the server fails to verify the presence and validity of an active session token or cookie. This oversight means that requests originating from unauthenticated sources are processed with the same privileges as those from authenticated administrators or regular users. The flaw is particularly dangerous in environments where Altair is deployed on internal networks for development teams, as it allows external entities to potentially exfiltrate sensitive query data, manipulate user configurations, or inject malicious GraphQL operations if other related vulnerabilities exist within connected endpoints.
The operational impact of this broken access control vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access. Attackers can exploit the lack of authentication to perform actions that compromise the integrity of the development environment. For instance, an attacker could save persistent queries containing sensitive database schemas or internal API structures, effectively stealing intellectual property and architectural details from the organization using Altair. Furthermore, if the application allows for the execution of arbitrary GraphQL mutations without proper validation, this vulnerability could serve as a vector for further attacks such as server-side request forgery (SSRF) or injection attacks against backend services that trust requests originating from the IDE interface. This undermines the principle of least privilege and exposes critical infrastructure to remote exploitation by any individual with network access to the Altair instance.
In terms of industry standards, this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-284, which describes Improper Access Control, specifically falling under categories related to insufficient authentication or authorization checks. It also maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, although in this case, the attacker does not need valid accounts because the system fails to enforce their necessity for certain actions. The lack of enforcement allows unauthenticated entities to operate as if they were legitimate users, violating fundamental security design principles outlined in frameworks like OWASP Top 10 under Broken Access Control. This classification highlights that the root cause is a failure in the application logic rather than a simple coding error or configuration mistake, requiring a more robust architectural review of how identity and permissions are managed throughout the request lifecycle.
To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations must immediately upgrade Altair to version 5.2.3 or later, where these access control mechanisms have been corrected to enforce strict authentication checks on all protected endpoints. For deployments that cannot be updated instantly due to operational constraints, network-level controls should be implemented as a compensating measure. This includes restricting access to the Altair interface via firewalls or reverse proxies so that only trusted IP addresses and authenticated users can reach the application. Additionally, implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with rules designed to detect anomalous request patterns associated with unauthenticated administrative actions can provide an additional layer of defense. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to ensure that no other similar access control flaws exist within the deployment environment, ensuring comprehensive protection against unauthorized data exposure and manipulation.