CVE-2026-114509: Laravel TokenGuard authentication bypass through non-string API credentials

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 0.4%, percentile 33: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.4% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 33% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes laravel/framework (Composer (PHP)) >= 13.0.0, < 13.29.0, fixed in 13.29.0; laravel/framework (Composer (PHP)) < 12.68.0, fixed in 12.68.0. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

Laravel is a web application framework. Prior to 12.68.0 and 13.29.0, TokenGuard configured as a standard token-based API guard does not reject a crafted non-string credential. Under affected MySQL or MariaDB configurations, the authentication lookup can match an unintended existing user, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication and take over an account on routes protected by TokenGuard. This issue is fixed in versions 12.68.0 and 13.29.0.

From the GitHub advisory

Laravel's built-in TokenGuard, when configured with a standard token-based API guard, may be bypassed to authenticate as an arbitrary existing user without knowledge of their valid API token.

Under certain database configurations (MySQL/MariaDB) an attacker can submit a specially crafted, non-string credential value that is mishandled during the authentication lookup, causing the underlying query to match an unintended user record rather than failing authentication as expected.

Impact An unauthenticated attacker may authenticate as another user without possessing that user's API token, leading to authentication bypass and account takeover on any route protected by the affected guard.

Weakness type: CWE-287, CWE-1287.

Product: laravel/framework (Composer (PHP)) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-10-21

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Attack requirements: present (depends on deployment conditions)
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-23): 0.40% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 33.

Timeline

• 2026-10-21 — CVE record last updated
• 2026-10-21 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2026-10-23 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-f9x3-7vq9-cph6 published (critical)

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-f9x3-7vq9-cph6 github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-114509 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-114509 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com
4. github.com github.com
5. github.com github.com

Critical Composer (PHP) advisories · Today’s Security Digest