# CVE-2026-97847: Keycloak privilege escalation via hardcoded-claim mappers

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-97847-a-flaw-was-found-in-the-protocol-mapper-and-identity-resolution  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-11-05. Updated: 2026-11-05  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-97847 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.1 · Published 2026-11-05

Keycloak is an identity and access management system that organizations use to authenticate users and secure applications. A flaw in how Keycloak validates token claims allows someone with limited client management permissions to forge tokens that impersonate a realm administrator, gaining complete control over the authentication system and all protected applications. The vulnerability affects service-account tokens that lack session validation.

Technologies: [Red Hat Keycloak](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/red-hat-keycloak). Vendors: [Red Hat](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/red-hat).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-97847 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-97847 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-97847?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.1, published 5 November 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Red Hat Keycloak.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-97847?** 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-2026-97847 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-97847?** Check whether you run Red Hat Keycloak. 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

The vulnerability exists in Keycloak's protocol mapper and identity resolution components when hardcoded-claim mappers are used to modify sessionless service-account tokens. Because these tokens lack a session ID, Keycloak fails to properly validate token integrity and incorrectly resolves the token bearer as a different privileged user based on manipulated claims. An attacker with client management privileges can exploit this improper authentication mechanism (CWE-287) to escalate to realm administrator authority.

## Affected products

- Red Hat Keycloak

## Timeline

- 2026-11-05: disclosed

## References

- [https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/](https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97847](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97847)

## Related threats

- [Red Hat Keycloak missing authorization check in group reparenting](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-116468-a-flaw-was-found-in-the-group-move-and-organization-group)
- [Keycloak privilege escalation via client authentication manipulation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-9797-a-flaw-was-found-in-keycloak-s-administrative-services-org)
- [Keycloak Account REST API session manipulation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-97367-a-flaw-was-found-in-the-keycloak-account-rest-api-where-it)
- [Keycloak token exchange lifetime bypass in Standard Token Exchange V2](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-96460-a-flaw-was-found-in-the-token-exchange-mechanism-of-keycloak-when)
- [Keycloak SAML broker ProxyRestriction bypass](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-92856-a-flaw-was-found-in-the-saml-brokering-component-of-keycloak-an)