VulnerabilityPublished 26 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-33506: ory polis · Improper Neutralization of Alternate XSS Syntax

Affects ory polisSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High : upgrade to 26.2.0 soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 40% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.2.0

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 26 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade polis and ory/polis to 26.2.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
orypolis	Affected <26.2.0	Fixed in 26.2.0
GitHubory/polis`pkg:github/ory/polis`Other threats	Affected <26.2.0	Fixed in 26.2.0

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-33506, organizations should immediately upgrade Ory Polis to version 26.2.0 or later, where the vulnerability is patched. Until the upgrade is applied, implement strict input validation and sanitization on the 'callbackUrl' parameter to prevent injection of malicious scripts. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers. Monitor web traffic and logs for suspicious URL parameters or unusual redirect patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. Educate users about the risks of clicking untrusted links, especially those related to authentication flows. Additionally, consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the impact of credential theft. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on authentication components to detect similar vulnerabilities. Finally, maintain an incident response plan to quickly address any exploitation attempts.

Description

Ory Polis, formerly known as BoxyHQ Jackson, bridges or proxies a SAML login flow to OAuth 2.0 or OpenID Connect. Versions prior to 26.2.0 contain a DOM-based Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Ory Polis's login functionality. The application improperly trusts a URL parameter (`callbackUrl`), which is passed to `router.push`. An attacker can craft a malicious link that, when opened by an authenticated user (or an unauthenticated user that later logs in), performs a client-side redirect and executes arbitrary JavaScript in the context of their browser. This could lead to credential theft, internal network pivoting, and unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the victim. Version 26.2.0 contains a patch for the issue.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2026-33506 is significant for organizations using Ory Polis in their authentication infrastructure. Successful exploitation can lead to client-side script execution in the context of the victim's browser, enabling attackers to steal sensitive credentials such as session tokens or cookies. This can result in unauthorized access to protected resources and user accounts. Furthermore, attackers may perform actions on behalf of the victim, potentially escalating privileges or manipulating application workflows. The ability to pivot into internal networks increases the risk of lateral movement and further compromise within an organization's environment. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems relying on Ory Polis for authentication. Given the network attack vector and no requirement for privileges, the threat can be exploited remotely by enticing users to click malicious links, increasing the attack surface. Organizations with high-value targets or sensitive data are at elevated risk, especially if they have not applied the patch in version 26.2.0.

CWE-87Improper Neutralization of Alternate XSS Syntax (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessOWASP Top 10 A03:2021: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controlled input for alternate script syntax.
Implementation
Resolve all input to absolute or canonical representations before processing.
Implementation
Carefully check each input parameter against a rigorous positive specification (allowlist) defining the specific characters and format allowed. All input should be neutralized, not just parameters that the user is supposed to specify, but all data in the request, including tag attributes, hidden fields, cookies,…
Implementation · Output Encoding
Use and specify an output encoding that can be handled by the downstream component that is reading the output. Common encodings include ISO-8859-1, UTF-7, and UTF-8.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
Cross Site Scripting Prevention (opens in a new tab)
DOM based XSS Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
XSS Using Alternate Syntax (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-601URL Redirection to Untrusted Site (Open Redirect) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: LowOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The web application accepts a user-controlled input that specifies a link to an external site, and uses that link in a redirect.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
Use an intermediate disclaimer page that provides the user with a clear warning that they are leaving the current site. Implement a long timeout before the redirect occurs, or force the user to click on the link. Be careful to avoid XSS problems (CWE-79) when generating the disclaimer page.
Architecture and Design · Enforcement by Conversion
When the set of acceptable objects, such as filenames or URLs, is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames or URLs, and reject all other inputs.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.1.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Cross-Site Flashing (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Mar 2026, 19:44 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-87, CWE-601

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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