CVE-2026-48088: OpenReception vulnerable to unauthenticated staff crypto poisoning that breaks E2E recipient directory
OpenReception's appointment booking software provides an end-to-end encrypted appointment booking platform. Prior to version 1.0.4, the route POST /api/tenants/{tenantId}/staff/{staffId}/crypto accepts and stores attacker-controlled ML-KEM-768 public keys against any tenant on the platform without authentication. The handler logs an "Unauthorized crypto key storage attempt" warning when neither a session nor a registration cookie is present, then proceeds to insert the row regardless. The platform's E2E claim that "even administrators cannot view sensitive information" is broken: any unauthenticated network attacker can register themselves as an additional encryption recipient for any tenant's future patient appointments. A second variant of the bug suppresses the unauthorized-warning log entry. The Zod schema makes the email field optional. When the request body omits email and the request carries no registration cookie, the comparison registrationEmail === email becomes undefined === undefined, which evaluates to true. The handler treats the request as a legitimate registration flow, skips the warning entirely, and stores the row. Successful storage is still recorded as an [info] log line, but the security-relevant warning that operators are most likely to monitor or alert on is gone. The staffcrypto table has no unique constraint on userid, so an arbitrary number of attacker rows can coexist for the same staff identifier and all return as isactive=true. The supplied staffId does not need to match any existing user or pending invite. Schema validation on passkeyId, publicKey, and privateKeyShare is also weak: the literal string <placeholder-base64> was accepted, indicating no length, format, or cryptographic-validity check beyond field presence. This weakness is independent of the auth bypass but compounds it: a poisoned directory can also be filled with malformed entries that break legitimate booking flows. The injected key is consumed by the public booking flow. After completing the unauthenticated bootstrap-challenge and bootstrap-verify ceremony as a "patient", the resulting bookingAccessToken is accepted by GET /api/tenants/{id}/appointments/staff-public-keys, which returns the attacker-controlled keys alongside any legitimate ones. A new appointment encrypts its tunnel key with ML-KEM to all listed recipients, so the attacker becomes a co-recipient of the encryption and can decapsulate the tunnel key with the matching secret. From there, all appointment payloads for that booking are decryptable. Version 1.0.4 patches the issue.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
OpenReceptionto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.0.4 - Configuration
For POST /api/tenants/{tenantId}/staff/{staffId}/crypto, require authentication (e.g., a session or a registration cookie) before accepting and storing attacker-controlled ML-KEM-768 public keys for any tenant; do not proceed with insertion when neither a session nor a registration cookie is present.
OpenReception API route POST /api/tenants/{tenantId}/staff/{staffId}/crypto Authentication requirement = required - Configuration
Strengthen the Zod schema so that passkeyId, publicKey, and privateKeyShare are validated beyond field presence; do not accept the literal placeholder string '<placeholder-base64>' and add cryptographic/format/length validation for the required ML-KEM values.
OpenReception schema validation (Zod) for staff crypto fields Schema validation rules for passkeyId/publicKey/privateKeyShare = strict - Configuration
Make the email field required in the Zod schema (the material states the email field is optional), and ensure request logic does not treat omitted email as valid (avoid cases where registrationEmail === email becomes undefined === undefined).
OpenReception schema validation (Zod) for email email requiredness = required - Configuration
Add a unique constraint on user_id in the staff_crypto table so an attacker cannot insert an arbitrary number of rows for the same staff identifier and have them all return is_active=true.
OpenReception database table staff_crypto Unique constraint on user_id = enforced - Configuration
Ensure the handler does not suppress the operator-visible warning; when neither a session nor a registration cookie is present, log the warning 'Unauthorized crypto key storage attempt' and do not treat the request as a legitimate registration flow that proceeds to insert the row.
OpenReception crypto key storage handler Unauthorized warning behavior = do not suppress
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-48088?
The severity of CVE-2026-48088 is critical with a score of 9.4.
What vulnerabilities does CVE-2026-48088 exploit?
CVE-2026-48088 exploits a flaw in OpenReception's appointment booking software that allows unauthenticated staff crypto poisoning.
How do I fix CVE-2026-48088?
To fix CVE-2026-48088, upgrade to version 1.0.4 or later of OpenReception's appointment booking software.
What impact does CVE-2026-48088 have on data confidentiality?
CVE-2026-48088 can potentially allow attackers to compromise the confidentiality of appointment booking data through malicious key manipulation.
Which API route is affected by CVE-2026-48088?
The affected API route in CVE-2026-48088 is POST /api/tenants/{tenantId}/staff/{staffId}/crypto.