CVE-2026-50000
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.5.0 until 2.16.0, the `Journalist Interface` can accept an `API session` token against the `web UI` because its `SessionInterface` keeps a mutable session key prefix that changes with each request and persists across requests. API and web sessions were separated in `Redis` starting in version 2.5.0, but prefix corruption confuses those session namespaces. An attacker who already has access to the secret `Journalist Interface` onion address, the required authentication access and a recent nonexpired `API session` token can reuse that token against the `web UI` until its natural expiry, at most eight hours. The corrupted prefix can also prevent logout from deleting the correct `Redis` session, although normal expiry still applies. A compromised journalist can access encrypted submissions and perform broad actions on source submissions, but this issue does not expose plaintext submissions or affect the running system's availability. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.0.
Executive briefing
This record describes a reported software or hardware weakness. The description and CVSS rating are source metadata; practical risk depends on whether your environment uses an affected product/version and whether the vulnerable component is reachable and configured in an exploitable way.
Severity & exploitability
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N
Impacted products and platforms
Specific affected product configurations are not currently available in the NVD record. Review vendor advisories and validate applicability against your asset inventory.
How it works and what it could affect
The NVD description is the authoritative short summary currently available for this record. A detailed technical mechanism is not inferred when the source record does not provide one.
Weakness classification: CWE-863
Review the CVSS attack characteristics above to understand whether exploitation is network/local, whether privileges or user interaction are required, and which confidentiality, integrity or availability impacts are scored.
Remediation and recommended response
- Identify exposure: compare the affected product and version ranges below with your asset inventory, software bill of materials, endpoint inventory and externally exposed services.
- Remediate: review the linked vendor security advisory or patch notes, upgrade to a fixed release, or apply the vendor-provided workaround if an upgrade cannot be completed.
- Mitigate while patching: restrict network access to the vulnerable service, disable the affected feature where operationally safe, and monitor vendor/CERT advisories for updated guidance.
- Validate: confirm the fixed version or mitigation on representative systems, run a vulnerability rescan, and retain change evidence.
Vendor remediation / security advisories
Exploit intelligence & references
No CISA KEV match is recorded in the latest successful catalog refresh. This is not a guarantee that public proof-of-concept code or exploitation does not exist.
- security-advisories@github.com vendor
- security-advisories@github.com vendor
- security-advisories@github.com vendor
Sources: NVD and CISA KEV when available. Vendor confirmation remains the final authority for fixed versions and workarounds.