CVE-2026-96613 in IoT Cloud Platform OpenAPI Service
Summary
by MITRE • 10/02/2026
The Meari IoT Cloud Platform OpenAPI Service is vulnerable to an authorization flaw that allows authenticated users to access the complete device shadow of any device by specifying its device ID. This vulnerability exposes sensitive information, such as device credentials, owner details, network data, and telemetry, without verifying any relationship between the requester and the target device.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2026
The Meari IoT Cloud Platform OpenAPI Service contains a critical authorization flaw that fundamentally undermines the principle of least privilege by failing to enforce proper access control mechanisms for sensitive resource retrieval operations. This vulnerability specifically affects authenticated users who, despite possessing valid credentials for their own accounts or devices, are able to bypass security checks when interacting with device shadow endpoints. The core technical deficiency lies in the server-side logic which accepts a target Device ID as an input parameter but does not validate whether this identifier belongs to a resource owned by or associated with the authenticated user making the request. This lack of object-level authorization verification allows for unrestricted access to comprehensive device shadows, effectively treating all devices within the platform as public resources accessible to any logged-in entity regardless of their actual permissions or ownership status.
From an operational perspective, this flaw results in a severe compromise of confidentiality and data integrity across the entire IoT ecosystem managed by Meari. Device shadows typically serve as persistent JSON documents that store state information for each device, including configuration settings, telemetry data, and critical authentication credentials such as API keys or certificates required for secure communication between devices and the cloud. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker can enumerate all available devices within a tenant account and extract their complete shadow configurations. This exposure reveals sensitive owner details, network topology information, IP addresses, and real-time sensor readings that may contain personally identifiable information or proprietary operational data. The ability to access these shadows without restriction means that attackers can gain deep insights into the physical environment monitored by IoT sensors, potentially facilitating further attacks such as device impersonation, configuration tampering, or targeted social engineering based on exposed user details.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Improper Access Control and specifically represents a case of Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) where the application uses user-supplied input to access an object without verifying that the requester has permission to do so. It also maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, as it leverages existing authentication credentials to escalate privileges and access unauthorized resources. The impact is compounded by the fact that IoT devices often have limited security capabilities themselves, relying heavily on cloud-side protections for secure operation; thus, compromising the device shadow effectively compromises the entire edge node's security posture. Attackers can use this information to craft precise attacks against specific hardware models or firmware versions identified in the exposed telemetry and configuration data.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate implementation of robust object-level access control checks within the OpenAPI service logic. Developers should ensure that every request for device shadow data includes a validation step that confirms the authenticated user's identity is explicitly linked to the target Device ID through ownership, sharing permissions, or administrative roles before returning any sensitive information. Additionally, implementing rate limiting and anomaly detection can help identify bulk enumeration attempts characteristic of this type of exploitation. Security headers should be configured to prevent caching of sensitive responses in shared environments, and all API endpoints handling device data must undergo rigorous penetration testing focused on horizontal privilege escalation scenarios. Regular audits of access control policies are essential to ensure that changes in user roles or device assignments do not inadvertently create gaps in authorization logic.