CVE-2026-71863
SecureDrop: Onion Service client auth credentials copied to Monitor Server
SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system that media organizations can use to securely accept documents from, and communicate with anonymous sources. From 2.13.0 until 2.16.1, running the securedrop-admin install Ansible playbook with journalist alerts disabled leaves the journalist alert key filename empty, causing the copy task to transfer every file in ~/.config/securedrop-admin/, including Onion Service client authentication credentials, to the Monitor Server. An attacker must first compromise the privileged Monitor Server to obtain the credentials, and the credentials remain an additional protection layer rather than sufficient access by themselves because the Journalist Interface still requires a username, passphrase, and MFA, while SSH access still requires SSH keys. This issue is fixed in version 2.16.1.
Fixes and workarounds
No remediation reported in collected sources.
Missing remediation information is not evidence that no patch exists.
Affected products and versions
| Product | Versions | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| securedrop freedomofpress |
>= 2.13.0, < 2.16.1 (affected) | CNA: GitHub_M |
Version ranges are source assertions. Check the vendor advisory and your installed configuration before determining exposure.
CVSS assessments
| Version / score | Vector | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 / 2.6 low |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N | CNA: GitHub_M |
Exploit evidence
No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.
References
- https://github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/security/advisories/GHSA-rqwh-4873-322pCNA: GitHub_M · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/commit/8947b8a69e0d13d2a0fa9f0082ecc2a28428cf4cCNA: GitHub_M · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/releases/tag/2.16.1CNA: GitHub_M · x_refsource_MISC
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