CVE-2026-33505: Ory Keto has a SQL injection via forged pagination tokens
Description
The GetRelationships API in Ory Keto is vulnerable to SQL injection due to flaws in its pagination implementation.
Pagination tokens are encrypted using the secret configured in secrets.pagination. An attacker who knows this secret can craft their own tokens, including malicious tokens that lead to SQL injection. If this configuration value is not set, Keto falls back to a hard-coded default pagination encryption secret. Because this default value is publicly known, attackers can generate valid and malicious pagination tokens manually for installations where this secret is not set.
Preconditions
This issue can be exploited when all of the following conditions are met:
- GetRelationships API is directly or indirectly accessible to the attacker - The attacker can pass a raw pagination token to the affected API - The configuration value secrets.pagination is not set or known to the attacker
Impact
An attacker can execute arbitrary SQL queries through forged pagination tokens.
Mitigation
As a first line of defense, immediately configure a custom value for secrets.pagination by generating a cryptographically secure random secret, for example:
openssl rand -base64 32
Next, upgrade Keto to a fixed version as soon as possible.
Other sources
Ory Keto is am open source authorization server for managing permissions at scale. Prior to version 26.2.0, the GetRelationships API in Ory Keto is vulnerable to SQL injection due to flaws in its pagination implementation. Pagination tokens are encrypted using the secret configured in secrets.pagination. An attacker who knows this secret can craft their own tokens, including malicious tokens that lead to SQL injection. If this configuration value is not set, Keto falls back to a hard-coded default pagination encryption secret. Because this default value is publicly known, attackers can generate valid and malicious pagination tokens manually for installations where this secret is not set. This issue can be exploited when GetRelationships API is directly or indirectly accessible to the attacker, the attacker can pass a raw pagination token to the affected API, and the configuration value secrets.pagination is not set or known to the attacker. An attacker can execute arbitrary SQL queries through forged pagination tokens. As a first line of defense, immediately configure a custom value for secrets.pagination by generating a cryptographically secure random secret. Next, upgrade Keto to a fixed version, 26.2.0 or later, as soon as possible.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-33505?
CVE-2026-33505 is classified as a high-severity vulnerability due to its potential for SQL injection exploitation.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33505?
To mitigate CVE-2026-33505, update the Ory Keto package to a version above 0.14.1-0.20260320140104-e4393662cd2e.
What types of attacks can exploit CVE-2026-33505?
CVE-2026-33505 can be exploited through SQL injection attacks that leverage insecure pagination token handling.
Which software versions are affected by CVE-2026-33505?
CVE-2026-33505 affects Ory Keto versions prior to 0.14.1-0.20260320140104-e4393662cd2e.
What is the cause of CVE-2026-33505?
CVE-2026-33505 is caused by vulnerabilities in the GetRelationships API's pagination implementation that enable SQL injection.