Quick answer
Direct answer
Risk scores
| CVSS metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Attack vector (AV:N) | Network: reachable remotely |
| Attack complexity (AC:L) | Low complexity |
| Attack requirements (AT:N) | No attack requirements |
| Privileges required (PR:N) | No privileges required |
| User interaction (UI:N) | No user interaction |
| Confidentiality (VC:H) | High confidentiality impact |
| Integrity (VI:N) | No integrity impact |
| Availability (VA:N) | No availability impact |
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/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
About the affected product
CVE-2026-94197 affects the affected product. Before acting, confirm where the affected product runs in your estate, who owns it and whether it is reachable from the internet, because exposure decides real risk more than the score alone.
What the flaw is
In plain terms: An authentication and authorization bypass vulnerability exists in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller (NIC) when configured with the `ExternalAuth` policy or Ingress external authentication. Client-supplied X-Forwarded-Prefix, X-Forwarded-URI, X-Original-URI, and X-Forwarded-Method routing and method headers are forwarded unsanitized into the internal authentication subrequest (handled by the NGINX auth_request directive). As a result, an unauthenticated, remote attacker may spoof request attributes evaluated by the external authentication provider. Impact: This vulnerability may allow remote attackers unauthenticated access to protected paths. There is no control plane exposure; this is a data plane issue only. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
Based on its CVSS vector, the flaw can be reached over the network, needs no login, and needs no user interaction. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.
Affected versions and timeline
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product | the affected product |
| Affected versions | See the vendor advisory under Technical References |
| Published | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Last modified | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Added to CISA KEV | Not listed |
| Assigning CNA | f5sirt@f5.com |
How to detect it
- Inventory every instance of the affected product and record the running version against the affected range above.
- Check external attack surface scans for internet facing instances of the component.
- Review logs on affected systems for unusual requests, errors or new processes around the vulnerable function.
- Confirm with an authenticated vulnerability scan once your scanner has a check for this CVE.
How to fix it
- Apply the fixed version of the affected product named in the vendor advisory.
- If patching must wait, restrict network access to the affected service and put it behind authentication or a web application firewall rule.
- Rescan after the change to prove the exposure is gone, then close the ticket.
CTEM action plan
| CTEM stage | What to do for this CVE |
|---|---|
| Scope | Add every business service that depends on the affected product to the current CTEM cycle. |
| Discover | Find all instances, including shadow and cloud deployments, and record versions and exposure. |
| Prioritize | Rank using EPSS and CVSS together with asset exposure and business impact. |
| Validate | Confirm the flaw is reachable and exploitable in your environment and that compensating controls work. |
| Mobilize | Assign the fix to the asset owner with a due date matched to the priority, then verify closure. |
CWE References
Technical References
Frequently asked questions
Related CVEs
Authentication bypass by spoofing in Azure HorizonDB allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
In N2W before 4.3.2 and 4.4.0 before 4.4.1, improper validation of API request parameters enables remote code execution.
Spoofing issue in the WebAuthn component in Firefox for Android. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 148 and Thunderbird 148.
In N2W before 4.3.2 and 4.4.x before 4.4.1, there is potential remote code execution and account credentials theft because of a spoofing vulnerability.
FUXA is a web-based Process Visualization (SCADA/HMI/Dashboard) software. From 1.2.8 through 1.2.10, an authentication bypass vulnerability in FUXA allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the server when the Node-RED plugin is enabled. This has been patched in FUXA version 1.2.11.
LiteLLM is a proxy server (AI Gateway) to call LLM APIs in OpenAI (or native) format. Prior to 1.84.0, a Host-header parsing flaw in the LiteLLM proxy could, under specific conditions, allow unauthenticated access to protected management routes. The auth layer derived the effective route from request.url.path in litellm/proxy/auth/auth_utils.py::get_request_route(), which Starlette reconstructs from the Host header. A crafted Host could therefore make the auth gate evaluate a different route from the one FastAPI dispatched. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.84.0.
Earn your free CTEM certification.
Learn to scope, prioritize, validate and mobilize fixes for CVEs like CVE-2026-94197 with a free CTEM certification.
Beginner / Practitioner / Program Leader
Explore certifications