---
id: CVE-2025-54996
aliases:
  - GHSA-vf84-mxrq-crqc
  - BIT-openbao-2025-54996
  - GO-2025-3857
title: OpenBao Root Namespace Operator May Elevate Token Privileges
summary: OpenBao Root Namespace Operator May Elevate Token Privileges
severity: high
cvss: 7.2
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
vendor: openbao
product: github.com/openbao/openbao
ecosystem: go
affected:
  - 'github.com/openbao/openbao >= 0.1.0, < 2.3.2'
  - github.com/openbao/openbao < 0.0.0-20250806193240-9b0b5d4f345f
patched:
  - github.com/openbao/openbao 2.3.2
  - github.com/openbao/openbao 0.0.0-20250806193240-9b0b5d4f345f
published: '2025-08-08'
updated: '2026-07-27'
source: OSV
sourceUrl: 'https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-vf84-mxrq-crqc'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/openbao/openbao/security/advisories/GHSA-vf84-mxrq-crqc'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-54996'
  - url: 'https://github.com/openbao/openbao/pull/1627'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openbao/openbao/commit/9b0b5d4f345fdfb1065956f042b12cbd86cd6e0f
  - url: >-
      https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-13-vault-root-namespace-operator-may-elevate-token-privileges/76032
  - url: 'https://github.com/openbao/openbao'
  - url: 'https://github.com/openbao/openbao/releases/tag/v2.3.2'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/cve-2025-5999'
tags:
  - osv
  - go
epss: 0.00308
epssPercentile: 0.21084
ingestedAt: '2026-07-27T19:08:55.174Z'
---

## Overview

### Impact

Accounts with access to the highly-privileged identity entity system in the root namespace may increase their scope directly to the `root` policy. While the identity system always allowed adding arbitrary policies, which in turn could contain capability grants on arbitrary paths, the `root` policy is restricted to manual generation using unseal or recovery key shares. The global `root` policy is not accessible from child namespaces.

### Patches

OpenBao v2.3.2 will patch this issue.

### Workarounds

Use of `denied_parameters` in any policy which has access to the affected identity endpoints (on [identity entities](https://openbao.org/api-docs/secret/identity/entity/)) may be sufficient to prohibit this type of attack. 

### References

This issue was disclosed to HashiCorp and is the OpenBao equivalent of the following tickets:

- https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-13-vault-root-namespace-operator-may-elevate-token-privileges/76032
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/cve-2025-5999

## Affected packages

- `github.com/openbao/openbao >= 0.1.0, < 2.3.2`
- `github.com/openbao/openbao < 0.0.0-20250806193240-9b0b5d4f345f`

## Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

- `github.com/openbao/openbao 2.3.2`
- `github.com/openbao/openbao 0.0.0-20250806193240-9b0b5d4f345f`