Vulnerability details
CVE-2026-49283
SimpleSAMLphp HTTP-Artifact TLS validator confusion allows cross-IdP authentication bypass
Official description
The SimpleSAMLphp SAML2 library is a PHP library for SAML2 related functionality. Prior to versions 4.19.3, 4.20.2, 5.0.6, and 6.2.1, the HTTPArtifact::receive() flow can treat an unsigned embedded SAML Response as cryptographically valid for the wrong identity provider. SOAPClient::addSSLValidator() attaches a TLS-based validator to the outer SOAP ArtifactResponse, while the embedded Response receives a validator that delegates to the outer message and is later checked against metadata selected from the embedded response issuer rather than necessarily the artifact issuer. SOAPClient::validateSSL() returns normally when the TLS public key does not match the key being validated, and SAML2\Message::validate() treats a validator call that does not throw as successful. In a multi-IdP federation, a malicious or lower-trust IdP can therefore provide an ArtifactResponse containing an unsigned Response that claims a higher-trust victim IdP as issuer and authenticate as arbitrary users with attacker-chosen assertion attributes, NameID, and session data. This issue is fixed in versions 4.19.3, 4.20.2, 5.0.6, and 6.2.1.
CVSS scores
| Score | Version | Source | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.7High | 3.1 | CVEProject cvelistV5 (CNA) (GitHub_M) | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N |
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| simplesamlphp | saml2 | < 4.19.3 | CVEProject cvelistV5 (CNA) |
| simplesamlphp | saml2 | >= 4.20.0, < 4.20.2 | CVEProject cvelistV5 (CNA) |
| simplesamlphp | saml2 | >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.6 | CVEProject cvelistV5 (CNA) |
| simplesamlphp | saml2 | >= 6.0.0, < 6.2.1 | CVEProject cvelistV5 (CNA) |
References and advisories
5- https://github.com/simplesamlphp/saml2/security/advisories/GHSA-6929-8p9f-26jx x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/simplesamlphp/saml2/commit/4a71b20d8d845579fd0a54d6449c265b40db459d x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/simplesamlphp/saml2/commit/a2c1ac588c70d7b7998546cf32675fb113f22a5f x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/simplesamlphp/saml2/commit/d5c213132ef671c0018a11252322034dbddd735a x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/simplesamlphp/saml2/commit/e2df7992609964951b2a3e7d6566b7427b2a968f x_refsource_MISC
Details
- Published
- 2026-08-19
- Last updated
- 2026-08-19
- State
- Published
- Assigner (CNA)
- GitHub_M
Exploit prediction (EPSS)
SSVC assessment (CISA)
- Automatable
- No
- Exploitation
- None
- Technical impact
- Total
Weaknesses (CWE)
- CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation