CVE-2026-88006: Open WebUI: Users denied by the OAuth role policy can still sign in via token exchange
Summary Open WebUI's OAuth token exchange endpoint issues a session for a provider access token without running the OAuth role management that the normal OAuth login callback runs. A user whose provider roles the login callback would refuse, or would demote, could still obtain a working session at their existing role through this endpoint.
Preconditions - ENABLEOAUTHTOKENEXCHANGE=True. It is disabled by default, so a default deployment is not affected. - ENABLEOAUTHROLEMANAGEMENT=True together with OAUTHALLOWEDROLES or OAUTHADMINROLES. Role management is off by default, and deployments not using it are not affected. - A valid, unexpired access token on the configured provider. - An Open WebUI account already linked to that provider subject, or an account with a matching email when OAUTHMERGEACCOUNTSBYEMAIL is enabled. This endpoint never creates accounts, so a token for a subject with no existing account is rejected.
Impact An admin who relies on OAuth role management expects a user to lose access, or lose admin, as soon as the identity provider stops reporting the required role. The login callback does enforce this on the next sign-in. Token exchange kept issuing sessions and never re-evaluated the role, so the user retained working access as their existing account at its existing role, including an admin role the provider had already revoked. The endpoint cannot create an account and cannot raise anyone's role, so this grants continued access rather than new or elevated access.
Fix d799e81ed, released in 0.11.1, runs the same role evaluation on the provider's response that the login callback runs. The exchange is denied with 403 when the reported roles match no allowed or admin role, and the account's role is updated to match the provider otherwise. Upgrading restores the check with no further action.
Root cause The affected component is the OAuth token exchange endpoint in backend/openwebui/routers/auths.py, present in builds from 0.8.0 onward.
The endpoint was added as a second entry point into the same session-issuing path the OAuth login callback uses, but it re-implemented only the identity lookup and not the policy checks surrounding it. Role evaluation lived inside the callback's own body rather than in shared code, so the second caller inherited none of it.
Credits @Classic298
Other sources
Open WebUI is an extensible, feature-rich, and user-friendly self-hosted AI platform. From 0.8.0 until 0.11.1, Open WebUI's OAuth token exchange endpoint issues a session for a provider access token without running the OAuth role management that the normal OAuth login callback runs. A user whose provider roles the login callback would refuse, or would demote, could still obtain a working session at their existing role through this endpoint. This issue is fixed in version 0.11.1.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
pip/open-webuito a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 0.11.1 - Upgrade
Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 0.11.1 - Upgrade
Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Patch d799e81ed
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which deployments are exposed?
Open WebUI versions from 0.8.0 through 0.11.0 are affected. The issue applies where OAuth is used and provider-role policy is expected to deny access or reduce a user's role.
What does an attacker need to exploit this issue?
An attacker needs a provider access token for a user whose provider roles would be refused or demoted by the normal OAuth login callback. They can use the OAuth token exchange endpoint to obtain a session without that role-management check.
What is the impact of successful exploitation?
The affected user can receive a working Open WebUI session at their existing role rather than being denied or demoted according to the OAuth role policy. The reported impact includes low confidentiality and integrity impact, with no availability impact.
What should administrators do?
Upgrade Open WebUI to version 0.11.1, which fixes the issue. If upgrading is not immediately possible, the provided information does not specify a workaround.