CVE-2026-60104 in Server
Summary
by MITRE • 07/08/2026
Bitwarden Server before 2026.6.0 does not verify that the email in a POST /auth-requests/admin-request body belongs to the authenticated caller, allowing a low-privileged organization member to obtain another user's vault key and a victim-scoped access token by creating a Trusted Device Encryption authentication request, bound to an attacker-controlled public key, that is readable from an unauthenticated endpoint once approved resulting in disclosure of the victim's vault key and account takeover.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/08/2026
This vulnerability exists in Bitwarden Server versions prior to 2026.6.0 and represents a critical authorization bypass flaw that enables low-privileged users to escalate their privileges and compromise other organization members. The vulnerability stems from inadequate email validation during the authentication request process, specifically within the POST /auth-requests/admin-request endpoint. When an attacker creates a trusted device encryption authentication request using a victim's email address, the system fails to verify that the email belongs to the authenticated caller, creating a path for privilege escalation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of authentication request workflows where attackers can craft malicious requests targeting other users within the same organization. The flaw allows unauthorized individuals to submit authentication requests bound to victim email addresses and attacker-controlled public keys. Once approved by an administrator, these requests become accessible through unauthenticated endpoints, enabling the extraction of sensitive information including vault keys and access tokens that grant full account access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables complete account takeover and data exfiltration. An attacker with minimal privileges can effectively impersonate other organization members and gain access to their encrypted vaults containing sensitive credentials, personal information, and potentially corporate data. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege and violates core security tenets of access control mechanisms. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-285 (Improper Authorization) and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1531 (Account Access Removal).
The exploitation process begins with a low-privileged user creating an authentication request for a victim user's email address, leveraging the missing email verification step in the system. The attacker must have access to the target organization's email addresses but does not require administrative privileges. Once the malicious request is approved, the system exposes the encrypted vault key through an unauthenticated endpoint, allowing the attacker to decrypt the victim's entire password vault and gain complete control over their account.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to Bitwarden Server version 2026.6.0 or later where proper email verification has been implemented for authentication requests. Additional mitigations include implementing multi-factor authentication for all users, monitoring authentication request workflows for suspicious activity, and conducting regular security audits of privileged access mechanisms. The fix addresses the root cause by ensuring that all authentication requests are validated against the authenticated caller's email address before processing, thereby preventing cross-user privilege escalation attacks.