CVE-2026-50000
SecureDrop: API session token reuse against the Journalist Interface web UI
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.5.0 until 2.16.0, the Journalist Interface can accept an API session token against the web UI because its SessionInterface keeps a mutable session key prefix that changes with each request and persists across requests. API and web sessions were separated in Redis starting in version 2.5.0, but prefix corruption confuses those session namespaces. An attacker who already has access to the secret Journalist Interface onion address, the required authentication access and a recent nonexpired API session token can reuse that token against the web UI until its natural expiry, at most eight hours. The corrupted prefix can also prevent logout from deleting the correct Redis session, although normal expiry still applies. A compromised journalist can access encrypted submissions and perform broad actions on source submissions, but this issue does not expose plaintext submissions or affect the running system's availability. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.0.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.0
SecureDrop: API session token reuse against the Journalist Interface web UI
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.5.0 until 2.16.0, the Journalist Interface can accept an API session token against the web UI because its SessionInterface keeps a mutable session key prefix that changes with each request and persists across requests. API and web sessions were separated in Redis starting in version 2.5.0, but prefix corruption confuses those session namespaces. An attacker who already has access to the secret Journalist Interface onion address, the required authentication access and a recent nonexpired API session token can reuse that token against the web UI until its natural expiry, at most eight hours. The corrupted prefix can also prevent logout from deleting the correct Redis session, although normal expiry still applies. A compromised journalist can access encrypted submissions and perform broad actions on source submissions, but this issue does not expose plaintext submissions or affect the running system's availability. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.0.
- Record
CVE-2026-50000- CVSS 3.1
- 5.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-114255
5.0
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.5.0 until 2.16.0, the Journalist Interface can accept an API session token against the web UI because its SessionInterface keeps a mutable session key prefix that changes with each request and persists across requests. API and web sessions were separated in Redis starting in version 2.5.0, but prefix corruption confuses those session namespaces. An attacker who already has access to the secret Journalist Interface onion address, the required authentication access and a recent nonexpired API session token can reuse that token against the web UI until its natural expiry, at most eight hours. The corrupted prefix can also prevent logout from deleting the correct Redis session, although normal expiry still applies. A compromised journalist can access encrypted submissions and perform broad actions on source submissions, but this issue does not expose plaintext submissions or affect the running system's availability. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.0.
- Record
EUVD-2026-114255- CVSS 3.1
- 5.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.0
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.5.0 until 2.16.0, the Journalist Interface can accept an API session token against the web UI because its SessionInterface keeps a mutable session key prefix that changes with each request and persists across requests. API and web sessions were separated in Redis starting in version 2.5.0, but prefix corruption confuses those session namespaces. An attacker who already has access to the secret Journalist Interface onion address, the required authentication access and a recent nonexpired API session token can reuse that token against the web UI until its natural expiry, at most eight hours. The corrupted prefix can also prevent logout from deleting the correct Redis session, although normal expiry still applies. A compromised journalist can access encrypted submissions and perform broad actions on source submissions, but this issue does not expose plaintext submissions or affect the running system's availability. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.0.
- Record
CVE-2026-50000- CVSS 3.1
- 5.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
5.0
SecureDrop: API session token reuse against the Journalist Interface web UI
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.5.0 until 2.16.0, the Journalist Interface can accept an API session token against the web UI because its SessionInterface keeps a mutable session key prefix that changes with each request and persists across requests. API and web sessions were separated in Redis starting in version 2.5.0, but prefix corruption confuses those session namespaces. An attacker who already has access to the secret Journalist Interface onion address, the required authentication access and a recent nonexpired API session token can reuse that token against the web UI until its natural expiry, at most eight hours. The corrupted prefix can also prevent logout from deleting the correct Redis session, although normal expiry still applies. A compromised journalist can access encrypted submissions and perform broad actions on source submissions, but this issue does not expose plaintext submissions or affect the running system's availability. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.0.
- Record
CVE-2026-50000- CVSS 3.1
- 5.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-50000 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.0) in Freedom Of The Press Securedrop, published October 30, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.36%, the 29th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/security/advisories/GHSA-78xq-8jf3-gpfx
github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/commit/cbe60cd68b67f44ffdd44c364c71cc71b40acfb5
github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/releases/tag/2.16.0
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/50xxx/CVE-2026-50000.json
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-50000