External risk intelligence

Headless Single Sign-On Unauthenticated Broken Authentication Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2026-62108

This vulnerability affects a Single Sign-On (SSO) component. SSO systems are designed to be public-facing identity portals or authentication gateways, making them inherently internet-exposed by design in standard deployments to facilitate user access.

Halo Surface Signal: 5 out of 5 — more likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This advisory concerns a critical authentication flaw identified in a Single Sign-On (SSO) component, potentially exposing systems to unauthorized access and data compromise. Given its nature as a public-facing authentication gateway, the technology is inherently accessible, underscoring the importance of verifying its relevance and any potential exposure within our environment.

Unauthenticated access bypasses login controls.
Affects public-facing authentication systems.
Confirm if this impacts our systems.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could target this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted request to the affected component over the network. This could allow them to bypass authentication controls. If successful, the attacker could gain unauthorized administrative access.

No authentication required.
Triggered via network request.
Risk of unauthorized administrative access.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication mechanisms in the Headless Single Sign-On component. When this component is accessible via a network, an attacker could potentially gain unauthorized access to the system, leading to data manipulation or disruption of services. The impact depends on the specific configurations and the systems integrated with the Single Sign-On.

System authentication could be bypassed.
Network access may enable exposure.
Unauthorized access to integrated systems.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This unauthenticated broken authentication vulnerability in Headless Single Sign On could allow an attacker to bypass authentication mechanisms. Real-world ownership typically falls to the platform or application team responsible for the identity management solution, with coordination from the network and security teams to understand and mitigate external exposure. The first practical step is to identify all instances of the affected Headless Single Sign On component, assess its reachability and criticality, and then engage the accountable owner to plan remediation based on the identified risk.

Application or Platform Team
Verify external reachability and impact.
Plan remediation based on risk.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the Headless Single Sign-On component?

Headless Single Sign-On is a software plugin often used in content management environments to centralize user logins. It acts as an identity bridge, allowing users to authenticate once to access various linked services or applications. By handling credentials and session tokens independently of the main site interface, it streamlines how users sign in across different parts of a digital ecosystem.

What does broken authentication mean for CVE-2026-62108?

This vulnerability, classified as CWE-290, means the security controls meant to verify a user's identity are fundamentally flawed. Instead of forcing users to prove who they are with valid credentials, the system fails to validate the authentication process entirely. Because of this weakness, an attacker can trick the system into granting them access as if they were a legitimate user without providing a password or token.

How is this vulnerability triggered?

An attacker triggers this flaw by sending a specifically formatted request over the network to the affected component. Because the authentication mechanism is broken, the system accepts this unauthorized request as valid without requiring any prior login or interaction. Simply browsing the site or using standard, legitimate user features will not trigger the vulnerability; it requires a deliberate, crafted request designed to bypass the check.

Is my system at risk from CVE-2026-62108?

If you are running the affected software, you must assume risk. According to Halo Surface Signal, this component is an SSO gateway, which is typically designed to be public-facing to support user logins. This makes it inherently accessible over the internet by design. Even if you believe your specific deployment is internal, you should verify if it is reachable via any network path, as SSO portals are often exposed to facilitate connectivity.

What should I do first to address this?

Your first step is to locate every instance of the Headless Single Sign-On component within your environment. Once identified, evaluate whether each instance is reachable from the network. After assessing these instances, coordinate with the specific application or platform teams who own these identity solutions to determine the business impact and prioritize a remediation plan based on your organization's risk profile.

References

patchstack.com/database/wordpress/plugin/headless-single-sign-on/vul…

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.