CVE-2026-44699
LibJWT is a C JSON Web Token Library. From 3.0.0 to 3.3.2, libjwt accepts an RSA JWK that does not contain an alg parameter as the verification key for an HS256/HS384/HS512 token. In the OpenSSL backend, this causes HMAC verification to run with a zero-length key, so an attacker can forge a valid JWT without knowing any secret or RSA private key. This is an algorithm-confusion authentication bypass. It affects applications that load RSA keys from JWKS where alg is omitted, which is valid JWK syntax and common in real deployments, and then choose the verification algorithm from the JWT header, for example in a kid lookup callback. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.3.3.
Published:May 15, 2026
Last Modified:May 15, 2026
EPS:May 15, 2026
EPSS Score:
CVSS Score:9.1
Affected Products
Vendor
Product
Action
Vendor
Benmcollins
Product
Libjwt
Benmcollins
Libjwt
Exploits
No exploit reference
Common Weakness Enumeration
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Network
Adjacent
Local
Physical
Privileges Required
None
Low
High
User Interaction
None
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Low
High
Integrity
None
Low
High
Availability
None
Low
High
