CVE-2026-105122 in OpenAM
Summary
by MITRE • 10/03/2026
OpenAM before 16.1.3 contains a server-side request forgery vulnerability that allows attackers able to register or modify OAuth 2.0 clients to make OpenAM fetch internal resources via an unvalidated jwks_uri. Attackers can trigger unauthenticated fetches through client-authentication and ID-token validation to probe internal hosts, metadata endpoints or local files, or exhaust request threads for denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2026
The vulnerability identified in ForgeRock OpenAM versions prior to 16.1.3 represents a critical server-side request forgery flaw rooted in the improper validation of Uniform Resource Identifiers within the OAuth 2.0 authentication flow. Specifically, the defect resides in the handling of the JSON Web Key Set URI parameter during the client-authentication and ID-token validation processes. When an attacker registers or modifies an OAuth 2.0 client configuration, they can supply a malicious jwks_uri value that directs OpenAM to fetch external resources without adequate sanitization or allow-listing mechanisms. This lack of input validation allows the server to act as a proxy for arbitrary network requests initiated by the attacker, effectively bypassing standard access controls because the request originates from the trusted internal application server itself rather than directly from an external client.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability exploits the trust relationship between OpenAM and its configured OAuth clients. During the token validation phase, the identity provider attempts to retrieve public keys or certificate information from the specified URI to verify signatures. By manipulating this endpoint, attackers can force OpenAM to send HTTP requests to internal network segments that are otherwise inaccessible from the external internet. This capability transforms a standard authentication mechanism into a powerful reconnaissance tool, enabling adversaries to map internal infrastructure, access sensitive metadata endpoints such as AWS instance metadata or Kubernetes service discovery interfaces, and potentially read local files if file protocol handlers are enabled on the underlying Java runtime environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for both information disclosure and denial of service. In terms of confidentiality, attackers can probe internal hosts to identify running services, extract sensitive configuration data, or access credentials stored in metadata stores that should remain isolated from external networks. This significantly expands the attack surface beyond the initial entry point provided by the OAuth client registration capability. Furthermore, the vulnerability poses a significant risk to availability. Attackers can exploit the unvalidated fetch mechanism to trigger rapid, high-volume requests against internal targets or even loop back to OpenAM itself. This behavior can exhaust available request threads and system resources, leading to service degradation or complete denial of service for legitimate users attempting to authenticate through the platform.
This flaw aligns with CWE-918, which describes Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), where a web server fetches a remote resource without validating the user-supplied URL. Additionally, it maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1557, specifically Adversary-in-the-Middle or Lateral Tool Transfer via SSRF patterns used for network reconnaissance and credential access. The vulnerability also relates to CWE-20, Improper Input Validation, as the root cause is the failure to restrict the scheme, host, and port of the provided URI against a predefined allow list.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate patching to version 16.1.3 or later, where ForgeRock has implemented stricter validation for jwks_uri parameters. In environments where upgrading is not immediately feasible, administrators should enforce strict network segmentation to isolate OpenAM servers from sensitive internal metadata endpoints and local file systems using firewall rules that block outbound connections to non-essential destinations. Additionally, configuring the underlying Java runtime to disable unsupported URL protocols such as file or ftp can mitigate the risk of local file disclosure. Continuous monitoring for anomalous outbound traffic patterns originating from the identity provider infrastructure is also recommended to detect potential exploitation attempts in real time.