CVE-2026-48031: Go Restful API Boilerplate: Hardcoded JWT Secret "random" Allows Token Forgery

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 0.6%, percentile 49: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 49% 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 github.com/dhax/go-base (Go) < 0.0.0-20260517152733-cc82b9740fa6, fixed in 0.0.0-20260517152733-cc82b9740fa6. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

go-base is a Go RESTful API Boilerplate template with JWT Authentication, backed by PostgreSQL. In versions prior to 2026-05-18, the JWT signing secret is hardcoded to the known string "random", letting any attacker who reads the public repository forge tokens for arbitrary users, including admin roles, and completely bypass authentication on all protected endpoints. This value is set in two places: the dev.env template (line 10) and a programmatic fallback in cmd/serve.go (line 35), so the application uses it even when no .env file is present. The original mitigation in auth/jwt/tokenauth.go (lines 22 to 25) only caught the exact string "random", letting other weak secrets through, and replaced it with an in-memory key that was not persisted, invalidating all tokens on every restart and effectively causing a denial-of-service. This issue has been fixed in version 2026-05-18.

From the GitHub advisory

Vulnerability: CWE-798 — Hardcoded JWT Secret + Broken Mitigation

Affected Component - github.com/dhax/go-base — Go REST API boilerplate (go-chi/jwtauth/v5, Viper, PostgreSQL/Bun) - 1,685 stars on GitHub

Vulnerability Locations

| File | Line | Role | |------|------|------| | dev.env | 10 | AUTHJWTSECRET=random — template default shipped to all users | | cmd/serve.go | 35 | viper.SetDefault("authjwtsecret", "random") — code-level fallback | | auth/jwt/tokenauth.go | 22-25 | Weak mitigation: only checked literal "random", auto-generated non-persistent key | | auth/jwt/tokenauth.go | 28 | jwtauth.New("HS256", []byte(secret), nil) — creates JWT signer with the weak key | | pwdless/api.go | 203 | GenTokenPair() — issues access + refresh tokens signed with the weak key |

Data Flow

Weakness type: CWE-798.

Product: github.com/dhax/go-base (Go) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-08-03

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): 0.63% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 49.

Timeline

• 2026-06-10 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-mqq6-462x-jxmm published (critical)
• 2026-08-03 — CVE record last updated
• 2026-08-03 — CVE record published by GitHub_M

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-mqq6-462x-jxmm github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-48031 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-48031 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

Critical Go advisories · Today’s Security Digest