Medium severity · published May 28, 2026
CVE-2026-9796
Keycloak: keycloak: privilege escalation via time-of-check to time-of-use (toctou) vulnerability
6.5
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
A flaw was found in Keycloak. An authenticated administrator with the `manage-clients` role can exploit a Time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) vulnerability in the name-based admin role checks. This allows the attacker to escalate their privileges to `realm-admin` for all users within the realm, granting them extensive control over the system. The composite role relationship persists even after the attacker's own permissions are revoked and across system reboots.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 12% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
RH
Red Hat Build of Keycloak · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: vendor
RH
Red Hat build of Keycloak 26.6 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: vendor
BO
Build OF Keycloak · Redhat
All versions, or not specified · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9796
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-9796
access.redhat.com
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56523
access.redhat.com
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56524
Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-9796
Issue Tracking
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2482464
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