What happened
authentik is an open-source identity provider. Prior to 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, and 2026.8.2, an unauthenticated attacker can submit a malformed SAML message to an authentik deployment using SAML in either the identity-provider or SAML source role. The message can stop the worker handling /application/saml/* or /source/saml/*, causing the requests assigned to that worker to fail. Worker process termination and automatic restart do not destroy database-backed sessions, but continued malicious messages can cause a sustained share of legitimate traffic to fail. Other protocol implementations are not affected. This issue is fixed in versions 2026.2.7, 2026.5.7, and 2026.8.2.
Affected versions
authentik: < 2026.2.7; >= 2026.5.0, < 2026.5.7; >= 2026.8.0, < 2026.8.2 Fixed: See vendor advisory.
Why it matters
Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.
Detection & mitigation
- Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
- Review affected product exposure and access logs.
Public PoC references
No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.