---
id: CVE-2026-91160
title: 'OpenWA is a free, open source, self-hosted WhatsApp API gateway'
summary: >-
  OpenWA is a free, open source, self-hosted WhatsApp API gateway. Prior to
  0.23.5, the /events WebSocket gateway delivers the session.qr event to a
  VIEWER API key that subscribes by event name or through either wildcard
  subscription form,…
severity: high
cvss: 8.2
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-862
vendor: rmyndharis
product: OpenWA
affected:
  - OpenWA < 0.23.5
published: '2026-09-24'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T17:17:09.257'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-91160'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA/commit/acc23c3803c07f43791a92e8e48456572fd69bdc
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA/commit/b9d9ea1c57bde98b7833a5d6e482998703667ef0
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA/pull/1602'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA/releases/tag/v0.23.5'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA/security/advisories/GHSA-m427-j4h4-9qwj
    label: security-advisories@github.com
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-09-24T16:47:15.851Z'
epss: 0.0025
epssPercentile: 0.14526
---

## Overview

OpenWA is a free, open source, self-hosted WhatsApp API gateway. Prior to 0.23.5, the /events WebSocket gateway delivers the session.qr event to a VIEWER API key that subscribes by event name or through either wildcard subscription form, even though GET /api/sessions/{sessionId}/qr requires the OPERATOR role. When an allowed session is waiting to be paired, the exposed QR lets the key holder link an external device to the WhatsApp account and then read and send messages outside OpenWA and its audit trail. Keys restricted through allowedSessions remain limited to those sessions, and deployments that issue only OPERATOR or ADMIN keys are not affected. This issue is fixed in version 0.23.5.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.