IRONSMITHINTEL
CRITICALCVSS9.1
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2022-23131|Auth: none — unauthenticated|Reboot: required|Manual only

Zabbix Frontend Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Unsafe client-side session storage leading to authentication bypass/instance takeover via Zabbix Frontend with configured SAML.

Published Jan 13, 2022 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A remote attacker, without authentication, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2022-03-08 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Software Vulnerability (CWE-290) (CWE-290) vulnerability in Zabbix Frontend. In the case of instances where the SAML SSO authentication is enabled (non-default), session data can be modified by a malicious actor, because a user login stored in the session was not verified. Malicious unauthenticated actor may exploit this issue to escalate privileges and gain admin access to Zabbix Frontend. To perform the attack, SAML authentication is required to be enabled and the actor has to know the username of Zabbix user (or use the guest account, which is disabled by default). Exploitation requires remote network access, low attack complexity, no authentication required, and no user interaction required.

📧

Phishing link

🖼

Malicious file

🔓

Server compromised

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running zabbix: 5.4.0 ≤ v ≤ 5.4.8, 6.0.0
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-02-22 based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Federal agencies required to remediate by 2022-03-08.

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

    1
    Vendor advisory: https://support.zabbix.com/browse/ZBX-20350
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23131
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-23131
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