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Cedar-Java has policy injection, type confusion, and incorrect equality comparison vulnerabilities

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jun 5, 2026 in cedar-policy/cedar-java

Package

maven com.cedarpolicy:cedar-java (Maven)

Affected versions

< 2.3.6
>= 3.1.2, < 3.4.1
>= 4.0.0, < 4.9.0

Patched versions

2.3.6
3.4.1
4.9.0

Description

Summary

CedarJava is an open source Java implementation of the Cedar policy language, used for fine-grained authorization decisions. Under certain circumstances, it could lead to incorrect equality comparisons.

Impact

EntityIdentifier.equals() has inverted null/self branches

The EntityIdentifier.equals() method has inverted logic for null and self-reference checks, returning true for null comparisons and false for self-comparisons. This does not affect Cedar authorization decisions (computed in Rust from JSON), but could affect integrators who perform their own equality checks on entity identifiers.

Impacted versions:

< 4.9

Patches

It has been addressed in CedarJava version 4.9 and above. We recommend upgrading to the latest version and ensuring any forked or derivative code is patched to incorporate the new fixes.

Workarounds

Avoid relying on EntityIdentifier.equals() for security-sensitive comparisons until upgraded to version 4.9.

References

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, Cedar asks that you contact us directly via email to cedar-policy-security@lists.cncf.io. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.

References

@mangeshhendre mangeshhendre published to cedar-policy/cedar-java Jun 5, 2026
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Jul 13, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jul 28, 2026
Reviewed Jul 28, 2026

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(27th percentile)

Weaknesses

Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. Learn more on MITRE.

Incorrect Comparison

The product compares two entities in a security-relevant context, but the comparison is incorrect, which may lead to resultant weaknesses. Learn more on MITRE.

Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')

The product allocates or initializes a resource such as a pointer, object, or variable using one type, but it later accesses that resource using a type that is incompatible with the original type. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-55771

GHSA ID

GHSA-4r9r-4425-74p7

Source code

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