---
id: GHSA-vfvf-6gx5-mqv6
title: Incorrect Authorization in ORY Oathkeeper
summary: Incorrect Authorization in ORY Oathkeeper
severity: high
cvss: 7.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N'
vendor: ory
product: github.com/ory/oathkeeper
ecosystem: go
affected:
  - 'github.com/ory/oathkeeper >= 0.38.0-beta.2, < 0.38.12-beta.1'
patched:
  - github.com/ory/oathkeeper 0.38.12-beta.1
published: '2021-06-24'
updated: '2026-07-08'
source: OSV
sourceUrl: 'https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-vfvf-6gx5-mqv6'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/security/advisories/GHSA-qvp4-rpmr-xwrr'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32701'
  - url: 'https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/pull/424'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/commit/1f9f625c1a49e134ae2299ee95b8cf158feec932
tags:
  - osv
  - go
ingestedAt: '2026-07-09T18:56:36.931Z'
---

## Overview

ORY Oathkeeper is an Identity & Access Proxy (IAP) and Access Control Decision API that authorizes HTTP requests based on sets of Access Rules. When you make a request to an endpoint that requires the scope `foo` using an access token granted with that `foo` scope, introspection will be valid and that token will be cached. The problem comes when a second requests to an endpoint that requires the scope `bar` is made before the cache has expired. Whether the token is granted or not to the `bar` scope, introspection will be valid. A patch will be released with `v0.38.12-beta.1`. Per default, caching is disabled for the `oauth2_introspection` authenticator. When caching is disabled, this vulnerability does not exist. The cache is checked in [`func (a *AuthenticatorOAuth2Introspection) Authenticate(...)`](https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/blob/6a31df1c3779425e05db1c2a381166b087cb29a4/pipeline/authn/authenticator_oauth2_introspection.go#L152). From [`tokenFromCache()`](https://github.com/ory/oathkeeper/blob/6a31df1c3779425e05db1c2a381166b087cb29a4/pipeline/authn/authenticator_oauth2_introspection.go#L97) it seems that it only validates the token expiration date, but ignores whether the token has or not the proper scopes. The vulnerability was introduced in PR #424. During review, we failed to require appropriate test coverage by the submitter which is the primary reason that the vulnerability passed the review process.

## Affected packages

- `github.com/ory/oathkeeper >= 0.38.0-beta.2, < 0.38.12-beta.1`

## Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

- `github.com/ory/oathkeeper 0.38.12-beta.1`