CVE-2026-41492: Dgraph: Unauthenticated Admin Token Disclosure Leading to Authentication Bypass via /debug/vars

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.

• Not in CISA KEV, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
• EPSS 2.5%, percentile 84: FIRST’s model estimates a 2.5% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 84% of all scored CVEs (elevated). 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 github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 (Go) < 25.3.3, fixed in 25.3.3; github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24 (Go) <= 24.1.8, no fixed version listed; github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph (Go) <= 1.2.8, no fixed version listed. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

Dgraph is an open source distributed GraphQL database. Prior to 25.3.3, Dgraphl exposes the process command line through the unauthenticated /debug/vars endpoint on Alpha. Because the admin token is commonly supplied via the --security "token=..." startup flag, an unauthenticated attacker can retrieve that token and replay it in the X-Dgraph-AuthToken header to access admin-only endpoints. This is a variant of the previously fixed /debug/pprof/cmdline issue, but the current fix is incomplete because it blocks only /debug/pprof/cmdline and still serves http.DefaultServeMux, which includes expvar's /debug/vars handler. This vulnerability is fixed in 25.3.3.

From the GitHub advisory

Summary Dgraph v25.3.2 still exposes the process command line through the unauthenticated /debug/vars endpoint on Alpha. Because the admin token is commonly supplied via the --security "token=..." startup flag, an unauthenticated attacker can retrieve that token and replay it in the X-Dgraph-AuthToken header to access admin-only endpoints.

This is a variant of the previously fixed /debug/pprof/cmdline issue, but the current fix is incomplete because it blocks only /debug/pprof/cmdline and still serves http.DefaultServeMux, which includes expvar's /debug/vars handler.

Details Alpha still exposes Go's default HTTP mux:

- x/metrics.go - imports expvar - initializes Conf = expvar.NewMap("dgraphconfig") - Go's expvar package automatically registers /debug/vars - expvar publishes: - cmdline = os.Args - memstats = runtime.Memstats

Alpha's HTTP handler explicitly blocks only the old CVE path:

Weakness type: CWE-200.

Product: github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 (Go) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-04-24

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: unchanged

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).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 2.46% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 84.

Timeline

• 2026-04-24 — CVE record last updated
• 2026-04-24 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2026-04-24 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-vvf7-6rmr-m29q 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-vvf7-6rmr-m29q github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-41492 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-41492 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com

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