CVE-2026-52824 PUBLISHED

Kimai: Default APP_SECRET in Docker Image Enables Cookie Forgery and Account Takeover

Assigner: GitHub_M
Reserved: 08.06.2026 Published: 15.09.2026 Updated: 15.09.2026

Kimai is an open-source time tracking application. Prior to 2.58.0, the official Docker image sets APP_SECRET to the public value change_this_to_something_unique in Dockerfile, and .docker/entrypoint.sh neither replaces nor rejects that value before Symfony uses it as kernel.secret. An unauthenticated attacker who reaches a deployment that did not override APP_SECRET, knows a username, correctly guesses the account ID associated with that username, and targets an account without active two-factor authentication can forge HMAC-protected authentication artifacts, including KIMAI_REMEMBER cookies and login links, to access the account without its password. The updated entrypoint generates and persists a random secret when no safe operator-provided value exists. This issue is fixed in version 2.58.0.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS Score: 9.1

Product Status

Vendor kimai
Product kimai
Versions
  • Version < 2.58.0 is affected

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-1188: Insecure Default Initialization of Resource CWE