{"id":"CVE-2026-123538","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-123538"],"related":[],"title":"OpenAM: forged SAML 1.x assertions let a partner sign in as others","description":"OpenAM before 16.1.4 does not verify that a signed SAML 1.x assertion or response was signed by the partner named as its issuer, accepting a signature from any certificate in OpenAM's keystore. An attacker holding such a private key, such as a trusted SAML 1.x partner, can forge assertions claiming another partner's issuer and sign in as that partner's users, including privileged ones.","summary":"OpenAM before 16.1.4 accepts a signed SAML 1.x assertion if it is signed by any certificate in its keystore, not necessarily the named issuer's. An attacker holding a trusted SAML 1.x partner's private key can forge assertions for another partner and sign in as that partner's users, including privileged ones.","severity":"high","cvss":7.5,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["identity","openam","other","saml","sso"],"not_affected_if":["no-saml-1x-partners","version-16.1.4-or-later"],"how_to_check":"- Check the OpenAM version in use; the sources say versions before `16.1.4` are affected.\n- Confirm whether SAML 1.x partner federation is configured on the deployment.","fix":"- OpenAM: upgrade to `16.1.4` or later (per the sources).","status":"open","published_at":"2026-11-08T02:16:44+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-08T02:21:10+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-11-08T02:23:24+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-08T02:23:24+00:00","category":"other","confidence":0.7,"triage":{"at":"2026-11-08T02:23:24Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"- OpenAM: upgrade to `16.1.4` or later (per the sources).","reach":"network","title":"OpenAM: forged SAML 1.x assertions let a partner sign in as others","impact":"high","summary":"OpenAM before 16.1.4 accepts a signed SAML 1.x assertion if it is signed by any certificate in its keystore, not necessarily the named issuer's. An attacker holding a trusted SAML 1.x partner's private key can forge assertions for another partner and sign in as that partner's users, including privileged ones.","audience":"businesses","category":"other","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["openam","saml","identity","sso"],"confidence":0.7,"fix_status":"available","needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"Attacker signs in as other partners' users, including administrators.","analyst_note":"","how_to_check":"- Check the OpenAM version in use; the sources say versions before `16.1.4` are affected.\n- Confirm whether SAML 1.x partner federation is configured on the deployment.","plain_action":"","needs_analyst":false,"not_affected_if":["version-16.1.4-or-later","no-saml-1x-partners"],"who_is_affected":"Organisations running OpenAM older than 16.1.4 that use SAML 1.x federation with partners. The risk depends on a partner holding a signing key, so deployments without SAML 1.x partners are likely less exposed. The sources do not say whether the issue is reachable without credentials beyond the partner-key requirement.","user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"yes","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000708,"input_tokens":4299,"output_tokens":556,"severity_before":"high"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-123538':16A,19A '-2026':15A,18A '1':4A,32B,57B,90C,126C '16.1.4':27B,82C 'accept':28B,104C 'anoth':67B,133C 'assert':6A,34B,65B,92C,131C 'attack':52B,115C 'certif':41B,109C 'claim':132C 'cve':14A,17A 'forg':2A,64B,130C 'hold':53B,116C 'ident':20B 'includ':77B,145C 'issuer':49B,103C,136C 'key':62B,120C 'keystor':44B,113C 'let':7A 'name':48B,100C 'necessarili':46B 'one':79B,147C 'openam':1A,21B,25B,80C,111C 'other':13A 'partner':9A,59B,68B,74B,99C,128C,134C,142C 'privat':61B,119C 'privileg':78B,146C 'respons':94C 'saml':3A,23B,31B,56B,89C,125C 'sign':10A,30B,38B,70B,88C,96C,138C 'signatur':106C 'sso':24B 'trust':55B,124C 'user':76B,144C 'verifi':85C 'x':5A,33B,58B,91C,127C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Organisations running OpenAM older than 16.1.4 that use SAML 1.x federation with partners. The risk depends on a partner holding a signing key, so deployments without SAML 1.x partners are likely less exposed. The sources do not say whether the issue is reachable without credentials beyond the partner-key requirement.","tier":"B","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"available","audience":"businesses","plain_action":null,"pkeys":[],"ptokens":[],"labels":["high","identity","openam","other","saml","sso"],"campaign_type":null,"search_a":"'-123538':16A,19A '-2026':15A,18A '1':4A 'assert':6A 'cve':14A,17A 'forg':2A 'let':7A 'openam':1A 'other':13A 'partner':9A 'saml':3A 'sign':10A 'x':5A","search_b":"'1':32B,57B '16.1.4':27B 'accept':28B 'anoth':67B 'assert':34B,65B 'attack':52B 'certif':41B 'forg':64B 'hold':53B 'ident':20B 'includ':77B 'issuer':49B 'key':62B 'keystor':44B 'name':48B 'necessarili':46B 'one':79B 'openam':21B,25B 'partner':59B,68B,74B 'privat':61B 'privileg':78B 'saml':23B,31B,56B 'sign':30B,38B,70B 'sso':24B 'trust':55B 'user':76B 'x':33B,58B","search_c":"'1':90C,126C '16.1.4':82C 'accept':104C 'anoth':133C 'assert':92C,131C 'attack':115C 'certif':109C 'claim':132C 'forg':130C 'hold':116C 'includ':145C 'issuer':103C,136C 'key':120C 'keystor':113C 'name':100C 'one':147C 'openam':80C,111C 'partner':99C,128C,134C,142C 'privat':119C 'privileg':146C 'respons':94C 'saml':89C,125C 'sign':88C,96C,138C 'signatur':106C 'trust':124C 'user':144C 'verifi':85C 'x':91C,127C","first_public_at":"2026-10-22T09:41:39+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X","cvss_by":"disclosure@vulncheck.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-123538","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-123538","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-08T02:16:44+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-08T02:16:44+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-08T02:21:10+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-08T02:21:10+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[{"id":99225,"url":"https://github.com/OpenIdentityPlatform/OpenAM/security/advisories/GHSA-j56q-q3r3-hg7f","title":"Vendor advisory: github.com","kind":"vendor","source":"nvd","publisher":"vendor","text":null,"published_at":"2026-10-22T09:41:39+00:00","relation":"advisory","confidence":null,"note":"Vendor advisory: github.com"},{"id":99226,"url":"https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openam-before-16.1.4-saml-1-x-signature-verification-issuer-impersonation","title":"Third-party advisory: www.vulncheck.com","kind":"advisory","source":"nvd","publisher":"research","text":null,"published_at":null,"relation":"advisory","confidence":null,"note":"Third-party advisory: www.vulncheck.com"}],"exploit_sources":[],"notice":"Free to read, with fair use of about 60 pages a minute. For higher limits or API access: sales@infrastack.ai"}