GHSA-3R34-VQ8M-39GH
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-06 19:16 – Updated: 2026-05-13 16:41Description
Overview
Lemur's LDAP authentication module (lemur/auth/ldap.py) constructs LDAP search filters using unsanitized user input via Python string interpolation. An authenticated LDAP user can inject LDAP filter metacharacters through the username field to manipulate group membership queries and escalate their privileges to administrator.
Vulnerable Code
Location: lemur/auth/ldap.py, _bind() method
Filter 1 — User lookup (line ~161):
ldap_filter = "userPrincipalName=%s" % self.ldap_principal
self.ldap_principal is derived directly from args["username"] submitted at POST /auth/login with no sanitization. The ldap.filter.escape_filter_chars() function is never called.
Filter 2 — Active Directory group lookup (line ~189):
groupfilter = "(&(objectclass=group)(member:1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941:={}))".format(userdn)
The userdn value is derived from the LDAP response to the first unsanitized query, making it potentially tainted as well.
Impact
An authenticated LDAP user can:
- Inject LDAP filter syntax into the username field during login
- Manipulate the group membership query to return arbitrary groups
- Be assigned the
adminrole or any other privileged role in Lemur - Gain unauthorized access to all certificates, private keys (via
/certificates/<id>/key), and CA configurations - Issue certificates under any authority
Exploitation Constraint
The simple_bind_s() call must succeed before the injectable filter is reached, so the attacker requires valid LDAP credentials. This is a post-authentication privilege escalation.
Steps to Reproduce
- Deploy Lemur with LDAP authentication enabled:
python LDAP_AUTH = True LDAP_IS_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY = True LDAP_BIND_URI = "ldaps://dc.corp.example.com" LDAP_BASE_DN = "DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com" LDAP_EMAIL_DOMAIN = "corp.example.com" - Create a valid LDAP user account
- Send login request with crafted username containing LDAP metacharacters: ``` POST /auth/login Content-Type: application/json
{
"username": "validuser)(memberOf=CN=LemurAdmins,DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com",
"password": "validpassword"
}
4. The LDAP filter becomes:
userPrincipalName=validuser)(memberOf=CN=LemurAdmins,DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com@corp.example.com
```
5. Depending on the LDAP server's parsing, this can alter query semantics
6. The user is assigned roles they should not have access to
Remediation
Apply ldap.filter.escape_filter_chars() to all user-controlled values before interpolation:
from ldap.filter import escape_filter_chars
# Fix 1: User lookup filter
ldap_filter = "userPrincipalName=%s" % escape_filter_chars(self.ldap_principal)
# Fix 2: Active Directory group filter
groupfilter = "(&(objectclass=group)(member:1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941:={}))".format(
escape_filter_chars(userdn)
)
Resources
- CWE-90: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/90.html
- OWASP LDAP Injection: https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/LDAP_Injection
- Python ldap.filter.escape_filter_chars: https://www.python-ldap.org/en/python-ldap-3.4.0/reference/ldap-filter.html
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"name": "lemur"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.9.0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-44304"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-90"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-06T19:16:59Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-05-12T22:16:37Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "## Description\n\n### Overview\n\nLemur\u0027s LDAP authentication module (`lemur/auth/ldap.py`) constructs LDAP search filters using unsanitized user input via Python string interpolation. An authenticated LDAP user can inject LDAP filter metacharacters through the username field to manipulate group membership queries and escalate their privileges to administrator.\n\n### Vulnerable Code\n\n**Location:** `lemur/auth/ldap.py`, `_bind()` method\n\n**Filter 1 \u2014 User lookup (line ~161):**\n```python\nldap_filter = \"userPrincipalName=%s\" % self.ldap_principal\n```\n\n`self.ldap_principal` is derived directly from `args[\"username\"]` submitted at `POST /auth/login` with no sanitization. The `ldap.filter.escape_filter_chars()` function is never called.\n\n**Filter 2 \u2014 Active Directory group lookup (line ~189):**\n```python\ngroupfilter = \"(\u0026(objectclass=group)(member:1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941:={}))\".format(userdn)\n```\n\nThe `userdn` value is derived from the LDAP response to the first unsanitized query, making it potentially tainted as well.\n\n### Impact\n\nAn authenticated LDAP user can:\n\n1. Inject LDAP filter syntax into the username field during login\n2. Manipulate the group membership query to return arbitrary groups\n3. Be assigned the `admin` role or any other privileged role in Lemur\n4. Gain unauthorized access to all certificates, private keys (via `/certificates/\u003cid\u003e/key`), and CA configurations\n5. Issue certificates under any authority\n\n### Exploitation Constraint\n\nThe `simple_bind_s()` call must succeed before the injectable filter is reached, so the attacker requires valid LDAP credentials. This is a **post-authentication privilege escalation**.\n\n### Steps to Reproduce\n\n1. Deploy Lemur with LDAP authentication enabled:\n ```python\n LDAP_AUTH = True\n LDAP_IS_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY = True\n LDAP_BIND_URI = \"ldaps://dc.corp.example.com\"\n LDAP_BASE_DN = \"DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com\"\n LDAP_EMAIL_DOMAIN = \"corp.example.com\"\n ```\n2. Create a valid LDAP user account\n3. Send login request with crafted username containing LDAP metacharacters:\n ```\n POST /auth/login\n Content-Type: application/json\n\n {\n \"username\": \"validuser)(memberOf=CN=LemurAdmins,DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com\",\n \"password\": \"validpassword\"\n }\n ```\n4. The LDAP filter becomes:\n ```\n userPrincipalName=validuser)(memberOf=CN=LemurAdmins,DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com@corp.example.com\n ```\n5. Depending on the LDAP server\u0027s parsing, this can alter query semantics\n6. The user is assigned roles they should not have access to\n\n### Remediation\n\nApply `ldap.filter.escape_filter_chars()` to all user-controlled values before interpolation:\n\n```python\nfrom ldap.filter import escape_filter_chars\n\n# Fix 1: User lookup filter\nldap_filter = \"userPrincipalName=%s\" % escape_filter_chars(self.ldap_principal)\n\n# Fix 2: Active Directory group filter\ngroupfilter = \"(\u0026(objectclass=group)(member:1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941:={}))\".format(\n escape_filter_chars(userdn)\n)\n```\n\n### Resources\n\n- CWE-90: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/90.html\n- OWASP LDAP Injection: https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/LDAP_Injection\n- Python ldap.filter.escape_filter_chars: https://www.python-ldap.org/en/python-ldap-3.4.0/reference/ldap-filter.html",
"id": "GHSA-3r34-vq8m-39gh",
"modified": "2026-05-13T16:41:43Z",
"published": "2026-05-06T19:16:59Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/Netflix/lemur/security/advisories/GHSA-3r34-vq8m-39gh"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44304"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/Netflix/lemur"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/Netflix/lemur/releases/tag/v1.9.0"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Lemur: LDAP Filter Injection enables post-authentication privilege escalation"
}
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.