CVE-2026-53425 PUBLISHED

Missing InResponseTo validation in Samly allows acceptance of unsolicited SAML responses

Assigner: EEF
Reserved: 09.06.2026 Published: 20.08.2026 Updated: 20.08.2026

Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity vulnerability in dropbox samly allows an attacker to establish an authenticated session using a SAML response the service provider never requested.

Samly.SPHandler.validate_authresp/3 in lib/samly/sp_handler.ex validates a SAML response for the SP-initiated flow by comparing only the RelayState value, the IdP identifier, and the presence of a target URL held in the session. It never compares SubjectConfirmationData/@InResponseTo against the ID of the AuthnRequest the service provider issued, and that request ID is never persisted, so no comparison is possible. SAML 2.0 Core section 4.1.4.3 requires a service provider to reject a response whose InResponseTo does not match a request it made. The underlying esaml library checks status, signature, recipient, audience, and staleness, but likewise never inspects InResponseTo, so nothing else closes the gap. Exploitation requires a validly signed assertion from the trusted IdP, which an attacker can obtain for their own account, and a RelayState matching the victim's session; the assertion signature itself remains intact, so this is not a signature-forgery issue.

This issue affects samly: from 0.3.0 onward.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS Score: 7.6

Product Status

Vendor dropbox
Product samly
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 0.3.0 to * (excl.)
Vendor dropbox
Product samly
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 8a5bb1b4a4753d05470da2036323477f63cfdf4c to * (excl.)
Vendor handnot2
Product samly
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 8a5bb1b4a4753d05470da2036323477f63cfdf4c to * (excl.)

Credits

  • Mark Madsen reporter
  • Jonatan Männchen / EEF coordinator

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-345 Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity CWE

Impacts

  • CAPEC-62 Cross Site Request Forgery