CVE-2025-55213 in OpenFGA
Summary
by MITRE • 08/18/2025
OpenFGA is a high-performance and flexible authorization/permission engine built for developers and inspired by Google Zanzibar. OpenFGA v1.9.3 to v1.9.4 ( openfga-0.2.40 <= Helm chart <= openfga-0.2.41, v1.9.3 <= docker <= v.1.9.4) are vulnerable to improper policy enforcement when certain Check and ListObject calls are executed. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.9.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2026
OpenFGA represents a sophisticated authorization engine designed to manage complex permission systems with performance and flexibility as primary objectives. The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-55213 affects specific versions within the 1.9.x release series, particularly from v1.9.3 through v1.9.4, impacting both Helm chart deployments and direct docker container installations. This flaw manifests in improper policy enforcement during critical authorization operations involving Check and ListObjects API calls, which form fundamental components of the engine's access control mechanisms. The vulnerability exists across multiple deployment methods, making it particularly concerning for organizations that may be using different installation approaches within their infrastructure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation and enforcement of authorization policies when processing specific API requests. The Check and ListObjects operations are essential functions that determine whether a user has specific permissions or can access particular resources within the system. When these operations fail to properly enforce policy rules, they create potential security gaps that could allow unauthorized access to protected resources. This improper enforcement mechanism represents a direct violation of core authorization principles and can be categorized under CWE-284 Access Control Bypass, which specifically addresses situations where systems fail to properly enforce access controls. The vulnerability essentially allows attackers to bypass intended authorization checks, potentially gaining access to resources they should not be permitted to access based on their defined permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple access control failures, as it affects the fundamental trust model that OpenFGA systems rely upon for security. Organizations using affected versions may experience unauthorized data access, privilege escalation, or complete bypass of permission controls that should protect sensitive resources. The vulnerability's presence in both Helm chart and docker deployment methods means that organizations using containerized environments are equally at risk, potentially affecting cloud-native deployments, microservices architectures, and traditional containerized applications. This widespread impact across deployment methodologies makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous for enterprises with diverse infrastructure footprints. The fix implemented in version 1.9.5 addresses the root cause by properly enforcing policy checks during the affected API operations, ensuring that authorization decisions are made according to defined rules rather than being bypassed due to implementation flaws.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability through upgrading to OpenFGA version 1.9.5 or later, regardless of their current deployment method. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the upgrade does not introduce compatibility issues with existing applications or services that depend on the authorization engine. Security teams should conduct thorough access control audits to identify any potential unauthorized access that may have occurred during the vulnerability window. Additionally, organizations should review their monitoring and logging configurations to ensure that authorization events are properly tracked and that any suspicious access patterns can be detected. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, as improper policy enforcement can effectively allow attackers to operate with elevated privileges through legitimate access channels. The security implications extend to compliance requirements, as unauthorized access to protected resources could result in regulatory violations and data breach notifications, particularly in environments governed by standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, or SOC 2 compliance frameworks.