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CVE-2026-52824GHSA-JR9P-4H4J-6C58

Kimai: Default APP_SECRET in Docker Image Enables Cookie Forgery and Account Takeover

Published
Last modified
published
Not listed in CISA KEV
Fix
Fixed in 2.58.0
1 proof of concept on GitHub, 1 Nuclei template
  • Exploitation: none
  • Automatable: no
  • Technical impact: total

Summary

Kimai is an open-source time tracking application. Prior to 2.58.0, the official Docker image sets APP_SECRET to the public value change_this_to_something_unique in Dockerfile, and .docker/entrypoint.sh neither replaces nor rejects that value before Symfony uses it as kernel.secret. An unauthenticated attacker who reaches a deployment that did not override APP_SECRET, knows a username, correctly guesses the account ID associated with that username, and targets an account without active two-factor authentication can forge HMAC-protected authentication artifacts, including KIMAI_REMEMBER cookies and login links, to access the account without its password. The updated entrypoint generates and persists a random secret when no safe operator-provided value exists. This issue is fixed in version 2.58.0.

Timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. CISA SSVC assessment

    Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total

  3. Record last updated

Affected versions

  • kimai kimai

    fixed in 2.58.0

  • kimai/kimaiPackagist

    fixed in 2.58.0

References 7

GitHub · kimai/kimai

kimai.org

GitHub · projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates

GitHub · AzureADTrent/CVE-2026-52824