Kimai: Default APP_SECRET in Docker Image Enables Cookie Forgery and Account Takeover (CVE-2026-52824) | HOL Guard CVE

Critical severityCVE-2026-52824GHSA-JR9P-4H4J-6C58

Kimai: Default APP_SECRET in Docker Image Enables Cookie Forgery and Account Takeover

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-52824 records a Critical severity vulnerability in Kimai: Default APP_SECRET in Docker Image Enables Cookie Forgery and Account Takeover. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps kimai/kimai (composer), kimai/kimai (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Sep 15, 2026Updated Sep 16, 2026Source checked Sep 17, 2026First seen by HOL Jul 14, 2026Material review Sep 16, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Critical
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 2 mapped packages or products
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps kimai/kimai (composer), kimai/kimai (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
kimai/kimaicomposer	<=2.57.0	2.58.0
kimai/kimaigeneric	< 2.58.0	Not reported

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for kimai/kimai, kimai/kimai.
Review the reported fix. Update kimai/kimai to 2.58.0 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Sep 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 16, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Jul 14, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

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.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.