GHSA-v77h-2w3m-94hx: Medium severity go/github.com/zitadel/zitadel vulnerability
Summary
A token lifecycle validation vulnerability was discovered in ZITADEL's external JWT Identity Provider (IdP) implementation Specifically, within the validation pipeline, if an incoming JWT omits the exp claim entirely, the expiration block is silently skipped rather than rejected. The token is treated as valid forever.
Per the OIDC Core 1.0 specification, identity token validation pipelines must strictly handle and enforce session expiration. ZITADEL's silent acceptance of tokens missing these temporal constraints compromises session integrity.
Impact
An attacker in possession of a token lacking an exp claim holds a permanent credential with no automatic expiration or revocation window.
Affected Versions
Systems running one of the following versions are affected:
4.x: 4.0.0 through 4.15.1 (including RC versions) 3.x: 3.0.0 through 3.4.11 (including RC versions)
Patches
The vulnerability has been addressed in the latest releases. ZITADEL now explicitly rejects tokens that lack an exp claim.
4.x: Upgrade to $\ge$ 4.15.2 3.x: Upgrade to $\ge$ 3.4.12
Workarounds
The recommended solution is to update ZITADEL to a patched version.
If an immediate upgrade is not feasible, ensure at the upstream Identity Provider level that an external IdP explicitly includes the exp claim in all signed JWTs.
Publication Note
This issue was originally disclosed as part of a unified security bulletin published under GHSA-wxg7-w2v3-w38g. To satisfy CVE Numbering Authority regulations regarding independently fixable logic flaws, the missing token expiration validation (exp) has been moved into this separate tracking entry so a distinct CVE ID can be correctly mapped to it.
Questions
If there are any questions or comments about this advisory, send an email to security@zitadel.com
Credits
ZITADEL thanks Android-Login-Analysis, Jason Zhou and Pedro Giglioti for reporting this vulnerability.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
go/github.com/zitadel/zitadelto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 3.4.12 - Upgrade
Upgrade
go/github.com/zitadel/zitadelto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.15.2 - Upgrade
Upgrade
zitadel/zitadelto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 3.4.12 - Upgrade
Upgrade
zitadel/zitadelto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.15.2 - Compensating control
If an immediate upgrade is not feasible, ensure at the upstream Identity Provider level that the external IdP explicitly includes the `exp` claim in all signed JWTs.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which deployments are affected?
Deployments using ZITADEL's external JWT Identity Provider are affected if they run 4.0.0 through 4.15.1 or 3.0.0 through 3.4.11, including release-candidate versions.
What does an attacker need to exploit this issue?
An attacker needs possession of a JWT that lacks an exp claim. On affected versions, the external JWT IdP validation pipeline accepts that token without enforcing an expiration time.
What versions contain the fix?
Upgrade 4.x deployments to 4.15.2 or later, or 3.x deployments to 3.4.12 or later. The fixed behavior explicitly rejects tokens that do not contain an exp claim.