# CVE-2026-103244: ground-station authentication bypass in setup.restore

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-103244-ground-station-versions-before-0-8-0-contain-an-authentication  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-01. Updated: 2026-10-05  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-103244 · Severity: critical · CVSS 9.8 · Published 2026-10-01

ground-station is a satellite/space application management platform. During first-run setup on a freshly installed instance, an unauthenticated attacker on the network can execute arbitrary SQL commands via the setup.restore function, allowing them to plant fake administrator accounts and session tokens to gain complete control of the application and all its data.

Technologies: [Sgoudelis Ground Station](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ground-station). Vendors: [Sgoudelis](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/sgoudelis).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-103244 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-103244 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-103244?** Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.8, published 1 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Sgoudelis Ground Station before 0.8.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-103244?** Yes: fixed in 0.8.3. Until then: Restrict network access to the ground-station instance until first-run setup is complete, or limit the setup.restore command to local connections only and require a one-time install token. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-103244 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a web application.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-103244?** Check whether you run Sgoudelis Ground Station at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- Fixed in 0.8.3

Restrict network access to the ground-station instance until first-run setup is complete, or limit the setup.restore command to local connections only and require a one-time install token.

## Technical details

An unauthenticated Socket.IO client can invoke the setup.restore command while setup_required is true, because the command is in the setup-time allow-list and authentication is not checked in setup mode. The vulnerability requires network reachability and an uninitialized instance. The attacker supplies SQL that creates an admin user and a forged session token (with a valid token_hash, future expiration, and revoked_at=NULL), then authenticates as administrator using that token to achieve complete application takeover.

## Affected products

- sgoudelis ground-station before 0.8.0

## Timeline

- 2026-09-14: disclosed
- 2026-10-01: advisory

## References

- [https://github.com/sgoudelis/ground-station/commit/940df2128e57fa779d0ddee2d9726bd829fc61e1](https://github.com/sgoudelis/ground-station/commit/940df2128e57fa779d0ddee2d9726bd829fc61e1)
- [https://github.com/sgoudelis/ground-station/security/advisories/GHSA-3mqj-q84c-crjq](https://github.com/sgoudelis/ground-station/security/advisories/GHSA-3mqj-q84c-crjq)

## Related threats

- [Ground Station missing authorization in get-orbital-sources handler](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-123485-ground-station-from-0-6-0-before-0-8-20-does-not-restrict-the)
- [Ground Station unauthenticated database destruction via Socket.IO](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-53984-ground-station-unauthenticated-database-destruction-via-socket-io)
- [Ground Station unauthenticated SSRF in orbital source configuration](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-53983-ground-station-unauthenticated-ssrf-in-orbital-source)
- [Ground Station unauthenticated denial-of-service in Socket.IO](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-53985-ground-station-unauthenticated-denial-of-service-in-socket-io)