OpenAEV: Missing authentication and authorization in player lessons API
Summary
OpenAEV, an open source platform for cyber adversary simulation, exposes its player lessons API without authentication on a default installation before version 2.260622.0. The endpoints trust a client-supplied userId parameter and do not check exercise membership. An unauthenticated attacker who knows an exercise UUID can read lessons-learned questions and answers, including the author of each answer, and can create or overwrite answers under any user's identity. Instances reachable from untrusted networks are at particular risk.
Affected
- OpenAEV versions before 2.260622.0
- The advisory tested version 2.260604.0 (Community edition)
Fixed in
- Upgrade to OpenAEV 2.260622.0 or later
Workaround
Unknown.
Interim measure (not verified by the vendor):
- Restrict access to the /api/player/ paths at a reverse proxy.
- Limit access to the OpenAEV web application to administrators or a VPN.
Exploitation
- No known exploitation in the wild.
- Not listed in CISA KEV.
- CISA SSVC rates the issue as automatable.
- The vendor advisory describes the request steps in detail; no public exploit was found in the sources reviewed.
Our recommendation
- Check whether any OpenAEV instance is reachable from the internet or from untrusted networks, and treat such instances as urgent.
- Upgrade all instances to 2.260622.0 or later in the normal patch cycle, with priority over other internal tools.
- Until the upgrade, apply the reverse proxy restriction and review lessons-learned content and answer authors for unexpected changes.
- Confirm the affected version range against the vendor advisory before closing the ticket.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-47wr-wp4h-8v3f github.com
- OSV: CVE-2026-71854 osv.dev
- OpenCVE: CVE-2026-71854 app.opencve.io
- VulDB: CVE-2026-71854 vuldb.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 1 Nov 2026, 16:14.
Original description (NVD)
OpenAEV is an open source platform allowing organizations to plan, schedule and conduct cyber adversary simulation campaign and tests. Prior to version 2.260622.0, on a default installation, the `/api/player/**` lessons endpoints can be called without authentication, and they trust a client-supplied `userId` query parameter without verifying that the caller is that user or a member of the exercise. An unauthenticated client that knows an exercise UUID can read lessons-learned questions and answers (including each answer's author identity) and create or overwrite answers attributed to an arbitrary user. Version 2.260622.0 contains a patch.
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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