RCE in Kimai
CVE-2026-52824
Kimai is an open-source time tracking application. Prior to 2.58.0, the official Docker image sets APP_SECRET to the public value change_this_to_something_unique in Dockerfile, and .docker/entrypoint.sh neither replaces nor rejects that value before Symfony uses it as kernel.secret. An unauthenticated attacker who reaches a deployment that did not override APP_SECRET, knows a username, correctly guesses the account ID associated with that username, and targets an account without active two-factor authentication can forge HMAC-protected authentication artifacts, including KIMAI_REMEMBER cookies and login links, to access the account without its password. The updated entrypoint generates and persists a random secret when no safe operator-provided value exists. This issue is fixed in version 2.58.0.
Published · last modified .
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.013 (71.1th percentile), scored .
Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 71st percentile — 71.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.013 · newest: 0.013 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Kimai — versions < 2.58.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-52824?
- CVE-2026-52824 is a vulnerability in Kimai, classified under Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default. Published 2026-09-15.
- Is CVE-2026-52824 known to be exploited?
- 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.