CVE-2026-102134 in Kiteworks
Summary
by MITRE • 10/01/2026
Kiteworks Core did not apply its gateway-level API security controls to every request authenticated through the platform's central authentication service. An authenticated user could reach REST API functionality over a request path on which those controls, including enforcement of signed-out and revoked sessions, were not applied.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2026
The vulnerability in Kiteworks Core represents a critical failure in the implementation of centralized security policies at the application gateway layer. Specifically, the platform's authentication service successfully validates user credentials and establishes an authenticated session; however, the subsequent enforcement mechanisms designed to protect API endpoints are inconsistently applied across all request paths. This architectural flaw creates a bypass scenario where specific REST API functionality remains accessible via certain URL structures that do not trigger the necessary security checks. The core issue lies in the decoupling of authentication from authorization and session state validation at the gateway level, allowing requests that should be subject to strict access controls to proceed without scrutiny.
From a technical perspective, this misconfiguration effectively neutralizes two vital security mechanisms: the enforcement of signed-out sessions and the revocation of active tokens or cookies. In a properly secured environment, when an administrator revokes a user's session or forces a logout, all associated authentication artifacts are invalidated immediately across every endpoint. However, due to this vulnerability, requests routed through the unguarded API paths continue to be processed using previously issued credentials that should have been deemed invalid. This allows attackers who possess stolen or compromised session tokens to maintain access even after those sessions have been explicitly terminated by system administrators or security operations teams.
The operational impact of this flaw is severe, particularly in environments where sensitive data exchange occurs via REST APIs. An authenticated attacker can exploit these unguarded paths to perform unauthorized actions such as reading confidential documents, modifying configurations, or exfiltrating data without triggering the expected alerts associated with session revocation events. Because the gateway fails to verify the current validity of the user's state against a central repository before processing the request, the integrity of access control decisions is compromised. This leads to a situation where privilege escalation and persistent unauthorized access are possible even after remediation steps like password resets or forced logouts have been initiated by security personnel.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Improper Access Control, as it involves inadequate restrictions on actions performed by authenticated users within specific contexts. Furthermore, the ability to bypass session validation mechanisms and maintain unauthorized access maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, specifically the sub-category of Persistence or Defense Evasion through token manipulation. The failure to enforce consistent security policies across all API entry points also reflects weaknesses in input validation and request filtering strategies commonly associated with CWE-693 Protection Mechanism Failure.
To mitigate this risk, immediate remediation should focus on ensuring that gateway-level security controls are uniformly applied to every incoming request regardless of the specific endpoint or path being accessed. This requires a comprehensive review of the API routing configuration to identify any exceptions where authentication and session validation checks were inadvertently disabled or bypassed. Security teams must implement strict policy enforcement points at the ingress layer, verifying not only that a user is authenticated but also that their current session status aligns with the central identity provider's records before allowing access to sensitive resources. Regular penetration testing focused on API security should be conducted to verify that session revocation and logout mechanisms function correctly across all available interfaces.