Skip to content

Zitadel has a user enumeration vulnerability in Login UIs

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jan 15, 2026 in zitadel/zitadel • Updated Jan 15, 2026

Package

gomod github.com/zitadel/zitadel (Go)

Affected versions

>= 4.0.0, <= 4.9.0
<= 3.4.5

Patched versions

4.9.1
3.4.6

Description

Summary

A user enumeration vulnerability has been discovered in Zitadel's login interfaces. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this flaw to confirm the existence of valid user accounts by iterating through usernames and userIDs.

Impact

The login UIs (in version 1 and 2) provide the possibility to request a password reset, where an email will be sent to the user with a link to a verification endpoint.
By submitting arbitrary userIDs to these endpoints, an attacker can differentiate between valid and invalid accounts based on the system's response.

For an effective exploit the attacker needs to iterate through the potential set of userIDs. The impact can be limited by implementing rate limiting or similar measures to limit enumeration of userIDs.

Additionally, Zitadel includes a security feature "Ignoring unknown usernames", designed to prevent username enumeration attacks by presenting a generic response for both valid and invalid usernames on the login page. The login UI V2 did not handle the setting correctly and would allow attackers to enumerate through usernames to check their existence.

Affected Versions

All versions within the following ranges, including release candidates (RCs), are affected:

  • v4.x: 4.0.0 through 4.9.0
  • 3.x: 3.0.0 through 3.4.5
  • 2.x: 2.0.0 through 2.71.19

Patches

The vulnerability has been addressed in the latest releases. The patch resolves the issue by returning a generic error message, which does not indicate it the user exists.

4.x: Upgrade to >=4.9.1
3.x: Update to >=3.4.6
2.x: Update to >=3.4.6

Workarounds

The recommended solution is to update ZITADEL to a patched version. You can limit the impact by implementing rate limiting or similar measures to limit enumeration of userIDs.

There is no workaround for the "Ignoring unknown usernames" issue in login V2. Please upgrade to a patched version, if you rely on this feature.

Questions

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [email protected]

References

@livio-a livio-a published to zitadel/zitadel Jan 15, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jan 15, 2026
Reviewed Jan 15, 2026
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Jan 15, 2026
Last updated Jan 15, 2026

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(12th percentile)

Weaknesses

Observable Discrepancy

The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor, which exposes security-relevant information about the state of the product, such as whether a particular operation was successful or not. Learn more on MITRE.

Observable Response Discrepancy

The product provides different responses to incoming requests in a way that reveals internal state information to an unauthorized actor outside of the intended control sphere. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-23511

GHSA ID

GHSA-pvm5-9frx-264r

Source code

Credits

Loading Checking history
See something to contribute? Suggest improvements for this vulnerability.