# CVE-2026-94609: authentik privilege escalation in delegation management

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-94609-authentik-is-an-open-source-identity-provider-prior-to-2026-2-7  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-24. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-94609 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.8 · Published 2026-09-24

authentik is an open-source identity and access management platform. An account with delegated permission to manage groups or users can escalate privileges to superuser status or assign roles without proper authorization checks. This allows privilege escalation within delegated administrative scopes, affecting only deployments that delegate management to non-administrator accounts.

Technologies: [Authentik](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/authentik-authentik). Vendors: [Authentik](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/authentik).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-94609 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-94609 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-94609?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 24 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Authentik prior to 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, and 2026.8.2.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-94609?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-94609 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-94609?** Check whether you run Authentik 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.

## Technical details

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in authentik's group hierarchy and role assignment logic prior to versions 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, and 2026.8.2. Delegated administrators can grant themselves superuser status or assign roles to groups because group hierarchy checks fail to account for inherited superuser status from ancestor groups, and role assignment lacks required authorization validation. The vulnerability requires an authenticated account with delegated management permissions.

## Affected products

- authentik authentik prior to 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, and 2026.8.2

## Timeline

- 2026-09-24: disclosed

## References

- [https://docs.goauthentik.io/releases/2026.2](https://docs.goauthentik.io/releases/2026.2)
- [https://docs.goauthentik.io/releases/2026.5](https://docs.goauthentik.io/releases/2026.5)

## Related threats

- [authentik SAML message denial of service](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-94613-authentik-is-an-open-source-identity-provider-prior-to-2026-2-7)
- [authentik SAML Source assertion signature validation and replay weakness](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-94612-authentik-is-an-open-source-identity-provider-prior-to-2026-2-7)
- [authentik API serializers credential exposure](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-94611-authentik-is-an-open-source-identity-provider-prior-to-2026-2-7)
- [authentik email authenticator enrollment address substitution](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-94606-authentik-is-an-open-source-identity-provider-prior-to-2026-2-7)