Description

Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in Apache Syncope. Delegations can be created or updated with Roles not owned by the delegating User, or not for the same Realm subtree under the delegation management was granted for. This issue affects Apache Syncope: from 3.0.0-M0 through 3.0.16, from 4.0.0-M0 Through 4.0.7, from 4.1.0-M0 through 4.1.2. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.0.8 / 4.1.3, which fix this issue.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-14T13:18:45.190Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-14T13:18:45.190Z",
  "executiveSummary": "Apache Syncope contains an improper privilege management vulnerability related to the delegation mechanism.\nThe vulnerability allows an authenticated user to perform unauthorized actions by assigning roles or administrative scopes that exceed their original authorization boundaries.\nThis flaw specifically affects the delegation management module, enabling a delegating user to grant permissions to other users that the delegator does not possess or lacks the authority to delegate.\nThe scope of this issue involves unauthorized privilege escalation and horizontal/vertical permission abuse, undermining the Principle of Least Privilege.\nAffected products include Apache Syncope versions 3.0.0-M0 through 3.0.16, 4.0.0-M0 through 4.0.7, and 4.1.0-M0 through 4.1.2.\nSuccessful exploitation permits an attacker to manipulate administrative delegations, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive realms or elevated administrative capabilities within the Identity Management (IdM) infrastructure.\nUsers must upgrade to the patched versions to eliminate the flaw, as the vulnerability resides within the core delegation logic of the framework.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from a lack of rigorous validation during the creation or modification of delegation objects within Apache Syncope. In the context of Identity and Access Management, a delegation allows a user to authorize another user to act on their behalf within a specific defined scope.\nThe technical root cause is an insufficient authorization check on the delegation management service. Specifically, the system fails to verify that the Roles being assigned via the delegation are owned by the delegating user. Furthermore, the system fails to enforce hierarchical boundaries, allowing delegations to be configured for Realm subtrees that fall outside the authorized scope originally granted to the delegating user.\nAn attacker capable of authenticating to the platform can interact with the delegation management interface. By crafting a specific request to create or update a delegation, the attacker can associate unauthorized Roles with a target delegate. Because the application fails to validate the ownership or the scope of the assigned Roles, the system registers the malformed delegation in the database.\nStep-by-step exploitation flow: 1. The attacker authenticates as a user with minimal delegation rights. 2. The attacker identifies a target Role or Realm they desire unauthorized access to. 3. The attacker submits a request to the delegation service to create a new delegation record. 4. The request includes parameters referencing Roles or Realm paths that are outside the attacker's administrative domain. 5. The backend service processes the request without cross-referencing the attacker's current effective permissions against the requested delegation parameters. 6. The delegation is successfully persisted. 7. The delegate now assumes the escalated privileges associated with the unauthorized delegation, allowing the delegate to perform actions or manage identities within the restricted realm or role context.\nThis vulnerability highlights a failure in server-side authorization enforcement. By bypassing the intended Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) constraints, an attacker can influence the security posture of the entire Identity Management ecosystem.\nThe vulnerability impacts confidentiality and integrity by allowing entities to exert influence over administrative objects and user identities they are not authorized to manage. The absence of validation in the delegation logic allows for the creation of 'shadow' administrative relationships that bypass the intended security policy of the Syncope environment."
}