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Improper Certificate Validation

CVE-2026-23998

High
8.2/10

Summary

Fleet is open source device management software. Prior to version 4.81.0, a vulnerability in Fleets Windows MDM management endpoint could allow requests to be processed without proper client certificate validation. In certain circumstances, this could allow an attacker to impersonate an enrolled Windows device and retrieve sensitive configuration data. Fleets Windows MDM management endpoint relies on mutual TLS (mTLS) client certificates to authenticate enrolled devices. In affected versions, requests that did not present a client certificate could be incorrectly treated as trusted. As a result, an attacker with prior knowledge of a valid enrolled device identifier could potentially impersonate that device and receive configuration payloads intended for it. These payloads may contain sensitive information such as Wi-Fi or VPN configuration data, certificates, or other secrets delivered through MDM profiles. This issue does not allow enrollment of new devices, administrative access to Fleet, or compromise of the Fleet control plane. Impact is limited to the targeted Windows device. Version 4.81.0 contains a patch. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, affected Fleet users should temporarily disable Windows MDM.

  • LOW
  • NETWORK
  • NONE
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • NONE
  • HIGH
  • NONE

CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation

The authenticity component of a web system stems from the ability to validate “Digital certificates”, which (i) establish trust between two or more entities sharing data over a network; (ii) ensure data at rest and transit is secure from unauthorized access; and (iii) check the identity of the actors that interact with the system. An application with absent or ineffective certificate validation mechanisms allows malicious users, impersonating trusted hosts, to manipulate the communication path between the client and the host, resulting in unauthorized access to data and to the application’s internal environment, and potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published