CVE-2026-44351CWE-1391CWE-287CWE-326

fast-jwt: Empty HMAC secret accepted via async key resolver - JWT auth bypass

Critical · published May 13, 2026

CVSS v3.1
9.1
EPSS
0%
Percentile
25.6
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

fast-jwt provides fast JSON Web Token (JWT) implementation. Prior to 6.2.4, a critical authentication-bypass vulnerability in fast-jwt's async key-resolver flow allows any unauthenticated attacker to forge arbitrary JWTs that are accepted as authentic. When the application's key resolver returns an empty string (''), for example via the common keys[decoded.header.kid] || '' JWKS-style fallback, fast-jwt converts it to a zero-length Buffer, hands it to crypto.createSecretKey, derives allowedAlgorithms = ['HS256','HS384','HS512'] from it, and then verifies the token's signature against an empty-key HMAC. The attacker simply computes HMAC-SHA256(key='', input='${header}.${payload}'), which Node accepts without complaint — and the verifier returns the attacker-chosen payload (sub, admin, scopes, etc.) as authentic. This vulnerability is fixed in 6.2.4.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
9.1 · CRITICAL
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.00334 · 25.6th percentile
Weaknesses
CWE-1391 · Use of Weak Credentials; CWE-287 · Improper Authentication; CWE-326 · Inadequate Encryption Strength
Published
2026-05-13T19:12Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 13 MAY 19:12Z
    fast-jwt: Empty HMAC secret accepted via async key resolver - JWT auth bypass
    cvelistv5