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CVE-2026-71863

LOWCVSS 2.6/10EPSS 0.21%

Last modified

CVE-2026-71863 is a low-severity vulnerability rated 2.6/10 on the CVSS scale. SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.13.0 until 2.16.1, running the securedrop-admin install Ansible playbook with journalist alerts disabled leaves the journalist alert key filename empty, causing the copy task to transfer every file in ~/.config/securedrop-admin/, including Onion Service client authentication credentials, to the Monitor Server. EPSS estimates a 0.21% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.13.0 until 2.16.1, running the securedrop-admin install Ansible playbook with journalist alerts disabled leaves the journalist alert key filename empty, causing the copy task to transfer every file in ~/.config/securedrop-admin/, including Onion Service client authentication credentials, to the Monitor Server. An attacker must first compromise the privileged Monitor Server to obtain the credentials, and the credentials remain an additional protection layer rather than sufficient access by themselves because the Journalist Interface still requires a username, passphrase, and MFA, while SSH access still requires SSH keys. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.1.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
2.6/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N

EPSS Probability
0.21%

11.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

VendorProductVersions
freedomofpresssecuredrop>= 2.13.0, < 2.16.1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-71863?
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.13.0 until 2.16.1, running the securedrop-admin install Ansible playbook with journalist alerts disabled leaves the journalist alert key filename empty, causing the copy task to transfer every file in ~/.config/securedrop-admin/, including Onion Service client authentication credentials, to the Monitor Server. An attacker must first compromise the privileged Monitor Server to obtain the credentials, and the credentials remain an additional protection layer rather than sufficient access by themselves because the Journalist Interface still requires a username, passphrase, and MFA, while SSH access still requires SSH keys. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.1.
How severe is CVE-2026-71863?
CVE-2026-71863 has a CVSS score of 2.6/10 (LOW severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.21% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-71863?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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Source: NVD / NIST