CVE-2026-42571: CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization in PelicanPlatform pelican
Pelican is a platform for creating data federations. From versions 7.21.0 to before 7.21.5, 7.22.0 to before 7.22.3, 7.23.0 to before 7.23.3, and 7.24.0 to before 7.24.2, there is a a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Pelican's Web User Interface (WebUI). This attack allows any user authenticated to the WebUI via OAuth to gain admin privileges under certain configurations. This issue has been patched in versions 7.21.5, 7.22.3, 7.23.3, and 7.24.2.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-42571 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the PelicanPlatform pelican product's WebUI. It affects multiple version ranges prior to 7.21.5, 7.22.3, 7.23.3, and 7.24.2. The flaw allows any user authenticated via OAuth to escalate privileges to admin under certain configurations due to incorrect authorization checks (CWE-863). The vulnerability has been addressed by patches in the specified fixed versions.
Potential Impact
An attacker with valid OAuth authentication to the Pelican WebUI can escalate their privileges to administrator, potentially gaining full control over the platform. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data federations and administrative functions. The CVSS score of 9.0 reflects a critical impact with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability has been patched in Pelican versions 7.21.5, 7.22.3, 7.23.3, and 7.24.2. Users should upgrade to one of these fixed versions to remediate the issue. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation requires applying the official patches. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor's versioning information in the advisory.
CVE-2026-42571: CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization in PelicanPlatform pelican
Description
Pelican is a platform for creating data federations. From versions 7.21.0 to before 7.21.5, 7.22.0 to before 7.22.3, 7.23.0 to before 7.23.3, and 7.24.0 to before 7.24.2, there is a a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Pelican's Web User Interface (WebUI). This attack allows any user authenticated to the WebUI via OAuth to gain admin privileges under certain configurations. This issue has been patched in versions 7.21.5, 7.22.3, 7.23.3, and 7.24.2.
CVSS v4.0
Score 9.0critical
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-42571 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the PelicanPlatform pelican product's WebUI. It affects multiple version ranges prior to 7.21.5, 7.22.3, 7.23.3, and 7.24.2. The flaw allows any user authenticated via OAuth to escalate privileges to admin under certain configurations due to incorrect authorization checks (CWE-863). The vulnerability has been addressed by patches in the specified fixed versions.
Potential Impact
An attacker with valid OAuth authentication to the Pelican WebUI can escalate their privileges to administrator, potentially gaining full control over the platform. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data federations and administrative functions. The CVSS score of 9.0 reflects a critical impact with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability has been patched in Pelican versions 7.21.5, 7.22.3, 7.23.3, and 7.24.2. Users should upgrade to one of these fixed versions to remediate the issue. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation requires applying the official patches. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor's versioning information in the advisory.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-28T17:26:12.084Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 69ff8cbdcbff5d86106ac331
Added to database: 5/9/2026, 7:36:29 PM
Last enriched: 5/17/2026, 10:08:49 AM
Last updated: 6/10/2026, 3:21:44 PM
Views: 95
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