vulnerability / NVI-00018535 / Revision 1
PyJWT: Algorithm allow-list bypass when decoding with `PyJWK` / `PyJWKClient` keys
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for pyjwt. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
5.4 medium
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
pyjwt
source listed>= 2.9.0, < 2.13.0
> [!NOTE] > Scored assuming a deployment where algorithm policy functions as an authentication/authorization boundary. In deployments where the algorithm policy enforces crypto agility only, the practical confidentiality impact is lower and the issue is closer to an integrity-of-policy-enforcement bug. PyJWT `2.9.0` through `2.12.1` allows a verifier-side algorithm allow-list bypass when `jwt.decode()` or `jwt.decode_complete()` are called with a `PyJWK` key. The token header `alg` is checked against the caller-supplied `algorithms` allow-list, but signature verification is performed with the algorithm bound to the `PyJWK` object instead of the header algorithm. An attacker who controls a registered JWK/JWKS private key can sign with a disallowed algorithm, advertise an allowed algorithm in the JWT header, and still be accepted. The issue affects the documented `PyJWKClient.get_signing_key_from_jwt(...)` flow. ### Summary PyJWT's `PyJWK` verification path allows a verifier-side algorithm allow-list bypass. In affected versions, when a JWT is decoded with a `PyJWK` object, PyJWT verifies that the header `alg` string is present in the caller's `algorithms=[...]` list, but it does
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-jq35-7prp-9v3f ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
Public revision history
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- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.