# CVE-2026-57520: Bitwarden Server privilege escalation in bulk user removal endpoint

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-57520-bitwarden-server-privilege-escalation-in-bulk-user-removal  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-06-25. Updated: 2026-06-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-57520 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.1 · Published 2026-06-25

Bitwarden Server, the backend for the popular password management platform, contained a flaw that allowed certain lower-privileged users to remove administrators from an organization. Specifically, users with 'Custom' permissions and the ability to manage users could bypass security restrictions by using a 'bulk delete' feature instead of the standard single-user removal tool. This could allow an attacker to disrupt organization management or lock out legitimate administrators, potentially leading to a loss of administrative control over the password vault.

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-57520 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-57520 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-57520?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.1, published 25 June 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Bitwarden Server before 2026.5.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-57520?** A patch was published on 2026-04-23: Fix merged into main branch via PR #7526 Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-57520 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-57520?** Check whether anything you run is named in the advisory. 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.

## Technical details

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Bitwarden Server due to a missing role hierarchy check in the bulk user removal endpoint (`DELETE /api/organizations/{orgId}/users`). While the single-user removal path correctly enforces a guard preventing 'Custom' users from deleting 'Admin' users, the bulk removal path (`RemoveUsersInternalAsync`) failed to implement the same check. An authenticated attacker with 'ManageUsers' permissions can obtain Admin organization-user IDs and include them in a bulk DELETE request to successfully remove one or more Admin accounts. This bypasses the intended authorization logic that restricts Custom users from affecting higher-privileged roles. The issue is fixed in version 2026.5.0 by adding the missing role validation to the bulk removal loop.

## Affected products

- Bitwarden Server before 2026.5.0

## Timeline

- 2026-04-23: patched: Fix merged into main branch via PR #7526
- 2026-05-29: advisory: Version 2026.5.0 released
- 2026-06-25: disclosed: CVE-2026-57520 published

## References

- [https://github.com/bitwarden/server/commit/901bb67157c0f80d369c40b76742fdf7623da4e4](https://github.com/bitwarden/server/commit/901bb67157c0f80d369c40b76742fdf7623da4e4)
- [https://github.com/bitwarden/server/pull/7526](https://github.com/bitwarden/server/pull/7526)
- [https://github.com/bitwarden/server/releases/tag/v2026.5.0](https://github.com/bitwarden/server/releases/tag/v2026.5.0)
- [https://sanjokkarki.com.np/blog/bitwarden-bulk-remove-admin](https://sanjokkarki.com.np/blog/bitwarden-bulk-remove-admin)
- [https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/bitwarden-server-privilege-escalation-via-bulk-user-remove-endpoint](https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/bitwarden-server-privilege-escalation-via-bulk-user-remove-endpoint)