CVE-2026-115998 in Cervantes
Summary
by MITRE • 10/24/2026
IDOR in Cervantes version v1.3-beta could allow an authenticated attacker ca access sensitive findings, proof-of-concept details, credentials, and client information from projects they do not belong to. Additionally, they can modify finding statuses and transfer findings to their own projects, compromising data confidentiality and integrity.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/24/2026
The vulnerability identified in Cervantes version v1.3-beta represents a critical Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) flaw that fundamentally undermines the application's access control mechanisms. This security defect allows an authenticated attacker to bypass intended authorization checks by manipulating input parameters, specifically those related to project identifiers or resource IDs. By altering these references, the attacker can interact with resources belonging to other projects within the system, effectively circumventing the logical boundaries established between different organizational units or client engagements. The root cause lies in the application's failure to validate whether the authenticated user has explicit permission to access or modify the specific object being requested, relying instead on predictable or directly exposed identifiers without sufficient server-side authorization verification.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe, affecting both the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data stored within the Cervantes platform. An attacker can exploit this flaw to retrieve confidential findings, detailed proof-of-concept documentation, internal credentials, and proprietary client information from projects they are not authorized to view. This exposure compromises the privacy of clients and potentially exposes critical security intelligence that could be leveraged for further attacks against those targets. Furthermore, the ability to modify finding statuses allows an attacker to alter the perceived severity or resolution state of vulnerabilities, which can mislead security teams into believing issues have been remediated when they remain active. This manipulation of data integrity poses a significant risk to the reliability of vulnerability management processes and decision-making based on these reports.
Additionally, the capability to transfer findings from other projects to one's own project exacerbates the threat landscape by allowing an attacker to obscure their malicious activities or manipulate audit trails. By moving evidence of vulnerabilities into projects they control, the attacker can potentially hide traces of unauthorized access or create confusion regarding ownership and responsibility for security issues. This action not only compromises data integrity but also complicates forensic analysis and incident response efforts, as the provenance of the findings becomes ambiguous. The combination of reading sensitive data and modifying its state creates a multifaceted threat that erodes trust in the platform's ability to securely manage vulnerability assessments across multiple tenants or projects.
To mitigate this vulnerability, immediate remediation should focus on implementing robust server-side access control checks for all endpoints involved in retrieving or updating project-related resources. Developers must ensure that every request is validated against an authorization matrix that explicitly defines which users are permitted to interact with specific objects based on their role and membership within the respective projects. It is essential to avoid relying solely on client-supplied identifiers for security decisions; instead, these should be mapped to internal resource IDs after verifying user permissions. Implementing indirect reference maps or using opaque, non-sequential identifiers can also reduce the predictability of object references, although this alone does not replace proper authorization logic. Regular code reviews and static application security testing focused on access control patterns are recommended to prevent similar flaws in future iterations.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-639, which describes Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key, as the attacker exploits user-controlled input to bypass restrictions. It also maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078, specifically Valid Accounts and potentially T1530 if data exfiltration is confirmed, highlighting the abuse of legitimate credentials to access unauthorized resources. Addressing this issue requires a comprehensive review of the application's authentication and authorization architecture to ensure that identity verification is consistently enforced at every level of resource interaction, thereby restoring confidence in the system's security posture.