Authentication Bypass in Metasploit JSON-RPC Service When DB Health Check Fails
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-16895 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | rapid7 |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-08-27 04:16:41 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-08-28 21:17:10 UTC |
| Description | A logic vulnerability (fail-open condition) has been identified within the Metasploit Framework's JSON-RPC web service interface. When an exception occurs during the database health check (db.check) and the environment variable MSF_WS_JSON_RPC_API_TOKEN is not explicitly set, the application resets the internal state flag msf.auth_initialized to false. The ApiToken Warden authentication strategy misinterprets this false value as an indicator that authentication is not initialized or required, thereby granting unauthenticated local access to the JSON-RPC request dispatcher. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 5.1 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS: 0.001610000 probability, percentile 0.055970000 (date 2026-08-31)
Problem Types: CWE-305 | CWE-305 CWE-305 Authentication bypass by primary weakness
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 5.1 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 5.1 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowAttack Requirements
NonePrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneConfidentiality
LowIntegrity
LowAvailability
NoneSub Conf.
LowSub Integrity
LowSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Rapid7 | Metasploit-framework | affected 6.5.2 custom | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.rapid7.com/blog/post/pt-metasploit-wrap-up-lot-of-summer-shells-and-fit-... | [email protected] | www.rapid7.com | |
| github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/pull/21768 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Jaime Cavero (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.